Manipur outmanoeuvre Sikkim to reach final
Source: Chronicle News Service
Imphal, April 01 2023:
Manipur outplayed Sikkim by four wickets to reach the final of the 1st NEC-DC Interstate Senior Men's Friendship Tournament on Saturday.
The state squad opted to held hrst in their semifinal match played at the Dim-paur's Nagaland Cricket Stadium and restricted Sikkim to 144/8 in the stipulated 35 overs.
Both Rajkumar Rex Singh and Bishowrjit Konthoujam played a vital role in Manipur's bowling attack.
The state duo finished with three wickets apiece while Jotin Pheiroijam and Bikash Singh took one each.
Sikkim suffered a stunning top order collapse as Rex removed opener Anwesh for 8 and the state pacer went on to dismiss No 2 Arun Chettri for a duck before Bishoworjit trapped Nilesh Lamichanay (6) lbw.
Entering the crease at No 4, Ashish Thapa scored 41 to give Sikkim a glimmer of hope but he fell prey to Bishowrjit's bowling.
After Bishworjit's second wicket, Rex was at his bowling best to send back Pranesh Chettri for a golden duck before Palzor Tamang (8) was caught off Jotin Pheiroijam's effort.
Sikkim managed to cross 140 courtesy of their last three batters Lee Yong Lepcha (22), Ankur Malik (26) and Tarun Sharma (17 not out).
Lee Yong fell to Bishworjit (his third wicket) while Ankur was dismissed by Bikash.
In their response, Manipur took 28.3 overs to overhaul the target, losing six wickets in the process.
Langlonyamba Singh M (43 not out) and Kishan Laishram (15 not out) guided the state team to a convincing semifinal win after Karnajit Yumnam (18), Md Basir Rahman (22) and Longjam Ronald (16) got out.
Jotin (15) and Pukhrambam Prafullomani (9) were other run-getters.
For Sikkim, Ankur and Tarun snapped two wickets each while Md Saptula and Lee Yong took one each.
Rajkumar Rex Singh was adjudged the man of the match for his three wickets.
Meanwhile, the other semifinal match between Nagaland and Meghalaya was abandoned due to wet outfield.
Nagaland were 58/3 in 20.4 overs before the match was called off.