Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy : Manipur end campaign with 6-wicket loss to Gujarat
Source: The Sangai Express

Imphal, October 27 2023: Manipur's campaign at the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy Group C came to a close with a 6-wicket loss against heavyweight Gujarat today at JSCA Oval Ground, Ranchi.

Manipur won the toss and opted to bat first, but were bowled out for 137 runs in 17.5 overs despite significant knocks from Priyojit Kangabam (40 off 34 balls; 3 fours 3 sixes) and Prafullomani (42 off 27 balls; 4 fours and 3 sixes) and Gujarat took 13.1 overs to seal the victory.

Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy : Manipur end campaign with 6-wicket loss to Gujarat

Manipur lost Basir Rahman early in the second over after adding 8 runs.

Priyojit and Prafullomani however made up the early loss and forged a significant partnership of 79 runs to push the score towards the 100-mark before Priyojit was caught and bowled by Vishal Jaiswal in the first delivery of the 12th over to reduce Manipur to 94/2 .

Three balls later, Prafullomani was run out by Hardik Patel.

Manipur's innings never recovered after Prafullomani's wicket as Gujarat's skipper Chintan Gaja (3/23 in 3 overs) and Arzan Nagwaswalla (3/18 in 2.5 overs) gained full control of the innings to bowl out Manipur for 137 runs in 17.5 overs.

In reply, Gujarat were reduced to 16/2 in 2.2 overs as Bishworjit Konthoujam got rid of Urvil Patel for 6 runs in the second over before Aarya Desai (10) holed out to Basir Rahman for 10 runs off the RK Rex's bowling.

Manipur failed to dampen the spirit of Gujarat that featured India international Ravi Bishnoi and kept the chase intact with Kshitij Patel and Saurav Chauhan putting in a fine effort.

Manipur's medium pacer Sultan Karim however broke the Kshitij-Saurav partnership of 34-ball 61 by removing Kshitij for 18 runs in the last delivery of the 8th over.

Sultan Karim also bowled out Saurav Chauhan for 50 runs in the 3rd delivery of the 10th over to reduce Gujarat to 88/4 but Chirag Gandhi blazed off 4 fours and 4 sixes on the way to his unbeaten 19-ball 48 and guide Gujarat to winning 139 in 13.1 overs along with Ripal Patel (5*) .

Sultan Karim returned with the best bowling figures of 2/29 in 3 overs.

The loss was the 6th in the tournament for Manipur who upstaged Arunachal Pradesh by 8 wickets in the previous all-NE States' match.

Brief Scores
Manipur 137/10 in 17.5 overs (Prafullomani 42, Priyojit 40, Chingakham Bidash 16; Chintan Gaja 3/23, Arzan Nagwaswalla 3/18, Ravi Bishnoi 1/31)
Gujarat 139 /4 in 13.1 overs (Saurav Chauhan 50, Chirag Gandhi 48*; Sultan Karim 2/29; Rex 1/20, Bishworjit Konthoujam 1/30) .