Tripura Cricket Team registered a resounding victory over Meghalaya in their Ranji Trophy match, defeating their opponents by an innings and 17 runs. The match was played at the Polo Ground in Shillong. Allrounder Manishankar Murasing claimed 11 wickets in the match apart from hitting a half century in Tripura’s first innings. He was adjudged ‘man of the match’.
Tripura’s dominance was evident from the outset. In their first innings, they amassed a formidable total of 374 runs. Meghalaya, in response, could only manage 222 runs, giving Tripura a first-innings lead of 152 runs.
Following on, Meghalaya could only muster 138 in their second innings. Resuming on 3 without loss on the third day, trailing by 152 runs, Meghalaya had no answer to Tripura’s bowling attack. Tripura’s plan was to dismantle Meghalaya right from the start of the fourth day, and that’s exactly what they did.
Had Jashkirat not offered some resistance in the middle order, Meghalaya wouldn’t have even crossed the 100-run mark. Jashkirat scored 51 off 84 balls with 8 boundaries, captain Kishan Lind made 30 off 31 balls with 7 boundaries, and Deepu contributed 29 off 43 balls with 4 boundaries and an over boundary. No other Meghalaya batsman could make a significant contribution.
Eventually, Meghalaya were bowled out for 138 in 37.5 overs in their second innings. Among the Tripura bowlers, Murasing grabbed five wickets.
Mani Shankar Murasingh, the hero of the match, picked up six wickets in the first innings and followed it up with a five-wicket haul in the second. Meghalaya’s batting lineup struggled to cope with the quality of Tripura’s bowling, and they were eventually bowled out for 138 runs.
Murasingh’s all-round brilliance earned him the Player of the Match award. His match-winning performance included a half-century with the bat.
With this victory, Tripura have now secured 7 points including a bonus point from their two matches in the Ranji Trophy. Their next challenge will be against the formidable Mumbai team on October 26-29 at the MBB Stadium.
