MNCA Elite tourney: CHAMP, CYCLONE, ESU make winning starts
Source: Chronicle News Service

Imphal, March 08 2024: CHAMP (Khagempalli), CYCLONE (Thangmeiband) and ESU (Wangkhei Palace Compound) all got off to a strong start in the 8th MNCA W Prahlada & W Ramamnanda Elite Tournament 2023-24, which got underway on Friday.

CHAMP made a resounding start to their campaign with a 6-wicket thrashing of RULE (Meitram) at Public Ground, Khangabok Part-Ill Cherapur, Thoubal.

The Khagempalli side bowled brilliantly to reduce their Meitram opponents to 145 in 39.5 overs.

Lethal spells of Mohd Ahsanul Kabir and Moirangthem Thomas Singh were on full display as Kabir claimed four wickets and Thomas picked up three, with Nitesh Sedai chipping in with two scalps and Md Babu taking one to lay the foundation for CHAMP's victory.

RULE'S innings saw Sanjenbam Ananda Singh (29), Avinash Asmali (27), Rajkumar Herachandra Singh (21), Ayekpam Rakesh Singh (20), Nongthombam Saroj-kumar Singh (17 not out) and Chabungbam Ishworjit Singh reach double digits.

In their response, Nars-ingh Yadav led the way for CHAMP with a 70-run knock that helped his team finish the chase at 149/4 in 25.5 overs.

Lairenjam Ansh Singh (35) and Samir (24) also played significant roles in their victory.

During the chase, CHAMP lost two wickets to Avinash Asmali and one to Jay Singh and Sanjenbam Ananda Singh.

CYCLONE, meanwhile, claimed a three-wicket victory against MODEL in their campaign opener at Lairenjam Public Ground, Imphal.

The Thangmeiband squad decided to field and dismissed MODEL for 164 in 42.1 overs as Loktongbam Santosh Meitei starred with the ball for CYCLONE, taking four wickets.

Nongthombam Denin and Nongmaithem Suraj Singh each took two wickets, and Maisnam Raju Singh contributed one.

Langlonyamba Singh M top-scored for MODEL in their innings with 53, followed by Thoudam Deepak Singh (47) and Robertson Singh Laishram (23).In reply, CYCLONE chased down the target in 43.4 overs, losing seven wickets in the process.

Bikash Singh batted masterly for 56 and Bikash Singh was unbeaten on 30, aided by runs from Rohit Singh Moirangthem (29), Loktongbam Santosh Meitei (20) and Kis-han Laishram (14), to guide their side to a convincing win.

For MODEL, Sunil Salam, Dibak Naorem and Waikhom Priyokumar Singh each grabbed two wickets, while Dingku G bagged one.

In other match, ESU kicked off their campaign with a two-wicket success against TRAU (Kwakeithel) at Luwangpokpa Cricket Stadium, Imphal.

TRAU chose to bat and scored 191 after being bowled out in 44.2 overs.

Priyojit Kangabam, who hit 82, stood out in their innings that also saw contributions from Priyojit Kangabam (27), Pukhrambam Prafullomani Singh (20), Anand Naorem (17) and Dr Siddharth Shah (13).For ESU, Thokchom Nishikanta Singh was the chief destroyer with three scalps, Lourembam Dipu Singh impressed with three wickets, and Hanjabam Naoba Sharma and Chitaranjan Sharma added one each.

ESU then achieved the target in 39.4 overs with two wickets in hand.

Thokchom Nishikanta Singh (50) and Sagolshem Ronal Meitei (46 not out) were both instrumental in their team's victorious chase.

Chongtham Mehul Shreth (18), Chitaranjan Sharma (17 not out) Hanjabam Naoba Sharma (14) and M Bimananda Singh (11) also contributed in ESU's triumph.

Thangjam Rishi Singh and Yumnam Amritakaran each got three wickets in TRAU's loss.

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