Ranji Trophy Plate Group SF : Manipur beat Sikkim by 2 wickets to earn historic Elite Group promotion and playoff final berth
Source: The Sangai Express
Imphal, January 20 2023:
Manipur beat Sikkim by 2 wickets in the Ranji Trophy Plate Group Semi-final today to avenge their league stage defeat and earn promotion to Elite Group of the first class domestic tournament as well as book playoff final against Bihar.
With Sikkim adding 336 runs in second innings after 229 runs in the first innings, Manipur who succumbed at 166 runs in the first innings were given an uphill task to score 337 for the win.
Manipur who were 108 for 2 after 41 overs at Stumps on Day 3, resumed the day cautiously and grabbed 232 runs to amass 340 runs in 55.3 overs on Day 4 (today) to secure the historic win despite Sumit wreaking havoc on the way to his 6-wicket haul (6/60 in 15.3 overs).
Having lost Ronald M (23) and Bikash Singh (64) yesterday, Langlonyamba and Basir Rahaman stitched together a major partnership of 90 runs off 156 deliveries for the third wicket today before Langlonyamba was bowled out by Sumit for 52 (off 136 balls, 5x4, 1x6) in 66.5 overs.
From 198 for 3 in 66.5 overs, P Prafullomani and Basir Rahaman kept the scoreboard ticking and added 54 runs for the 4th wicket off 97 deliveries to take Manipur past the 250 run mark after the tea break.
Prafullomani (34) was however caught out by Tarun Sharma off Sumit's last delivery of the 83rd over.
Sikkim looked to have gained ground with Sumit removing Basir Rahaman (75 off 135 ball, 10x4) who was playing a key role and Jotin Pheiroijam (0) in the first successive deliveries of 87th over to leave Manipur at 274 for 6.Sumit also trapped Kishan Singha lbw and bowled out Priyojit to further dent the cause and leave Manipur struggling at 307 for 8 in 92.3 overs, but Saddam Ahmed Shah blazed off 30-ball 40 to add an unbeaten 33 run partnership with RK Rex (8* off 13 ball) to resurrect the chase and steer Manipur to a winning 340 in 96.3 overs.
Shah's knock included 5 fours and 3 sixes while Rex managed a four.
Manipur will now play Bihar, who beat Meghalaya by 302 runs in the other semifinal play-off at MCA Ground in Shillong, from January 25 at Moin UI Haq Stadium in Patna.
It may be noted that Manipur started this season's campaign with an 8-wicket loss to Sikkim but drew Bihar in the second match before beating Arunachal Pradesh, Mizoram and Meghalaya in the following matches to finish third in the Group table and secure a semi-final berth.
Brief Scores
Sikkim 229 (Nilesh Lamichaney 83, Sumit 56; Jotin Pheiroijam 4/33, L Kishan Singha 4/79) and 273 (Sumit 168, Ashish Thapa 30, Jotin Pheiroijam 5/62, Kishan Singha 4/77) lose by 2 wickets to Manipur 166 (B Rahman 31, Kishan Singha 27, Jotin Pheiroijam 25; Bijay 4/18, Sumit 2/25, Lee Yong Lepcha 2/40) and 340 for 8 (Bikash Singh 64, Langlonyamba 52, B Rahman 75, Shah 43*; Sumit 6/60) .