Under-19 Cooch Behar Trophy: Tripura team staring at huge defeat against Puducherry
The Tripura U-19 team displayed a miserable performance with the bat in the ongoing U-19 Cooch Behar Trophy at the Narsingarh Police Training Academy on Thursday. Only three batsmen of the State team could reach double figures. After the bowlers performed well to restrict Puduchhery to 147 runs in the first innings, Tripura batsmen crumbled and could put mere 82 runs on board and conceded a 65-run deficit in the first innings.
From the start of the season, concerns had been raised about team selection, with reports suggesting that several deserving players were overlooked in favor of less qualified candidates. This controversial team selection decision is now coming under scrutiny as the team struggles in their opening match.
Despite the bowlers’ commendable efforts to contain the visiting team to a modest first-innings score, the lack of batting depth has left Tripura in a precarious position. At the close of the second day's play, Puducherry held a commanding 212-run lead.
Responding to Puducherry’s first-innings score of 147, Tripura was dismissed for a mere 82 runs. Puducherry, with an initial lead of 65 runs, had reached 147/3 by the end of day two, aiming to set a target exceeding 300 runs by Friday and push for an outright victory.
Puducherry resumed their innings on Thursday at 110/6, adding 37 more runs before losing their remaining four wickets. While their batsmen struggled to build significant partnerships, Tripura's bowlers showed promise, with Rakesh Rudra Pal claiming 3 wickets for 22 runs, Arkjit Roy taking 3 for 30, and Rahul Sutradhar 2 for 14.
In reply, Tripura’s batting lineup faltered from the start. They managed to last only 41.3 overs before being bowled out for 82, with Tanay Mandal’s 16, Rohan Biswas’s 14, and captain Debanshu Dutta’s 12 as the only notable contributions. None of the other batsmen reached double figures. For Puducherry, Manikanandan was the standout bowler, taking 4 wickets for 27 runs, with support from Sandeep (3 for 15) and Athchayan (2 for 13).
Batting again with a lead, Puducherry built on their advantage, reaching 147/3 at stumps. Prajan Kumar emerged as their star performer, remaining unbeaten on 61 off 87 balls, including 10 fours and a six. Captain Kushant Silora scored a steady 45, while Abhinayan S added 29. Arkjit Roy continued his bowling form for Tripura, taking 2 wickets for 42 runs.
With Puducherry is already leading Tripura by 212 runs, the State team is staring at a huge defeat in their opening match of the tournament.
(Tripura, Northeast)
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