Ranji Trophy Plate Group round-up: Nagaland completes innings win

Abrar Kazi’s all-round display steered Nagaland to a comprehensive victory over Mizoram in Dimapur.

Rousing start: The Sikkim team after defeating Manipur in Kolkata. Photo: Special Arrangement

Abrar Kazi claimed a five-wicket haul after hammering a double-century to steer Nagaland to victory over Mizoram by an innings and 333 runs in its Ranji Trophy contest at the Nagaland Cricket Stadium in Dimapur.

After being bundled out for 106, Mizoram fell for 91 in the second innings. Taruwar Kohli was the only batsman to show some resistance; he remained unbeaten on 48. After piling up 530 for 8 in its first innings, Nagaland needed to show resilience in the bowling department; it was able to do so thanks to Kazi.

At the MCA Stadium in Shillong, Meghalaya defeated Arunachal Pradesh by seven wickets. Meghalaya chased down its targeet of 157 at ease, Punit Bisht (66) and Yogesh Nagar (57) adding 104 runs for the fourth wicket. This was after Arunachal Pradesh was bundled out for 131 runs in the second innings, Abhay Negi and Gurinder Singh bagging four wickets each.

One-sided contest

At the Jadavpur University Ground in Kolkata, Sikkim defeated Manipur by an innings and 27 runs. After being forced to follow-on, Manipur was bundled out for 266. Yashpal Singh, a seasoned campaigner, smashed 132 but it wasn’t enough to reverse the tide for Manipur. Sikkim’s Bipul Sharma took four wickets.

All the four matches in the Plate Group had comprehensive margins of victory. On Friday, Uttarakhand had mauled Bihar by 10 wickets.

• In Kolkata: Manipur 79 (Ishwar Chaudhary 4 for 37, B. B. Sharma 3 for 27) and 266 (Yashpal Singh 132 n.o., Lakhan Arjun Rawat 70, B. B. Sharma 4 for 55, Ishwar Chaudhary 3 for 52) lost to Sikkim 372 (Milind 261, Shelly Shaurya 4 for 39, Rex 3 for 97).
• In Sovima: Mizoram 106 (Abrar Kazi 4 for 16) and 91 (Abrar Kazi 5 for 13) lost to Nagaland 530 for 8 dec. (Abrar Kazi 200 n.o., R. Jonathan 72, Mughavi 58, Imliwati 50, Moia 3 for 90).
• In Shillong: Arunachal Pradesh 166 (Samarth Seth 50, Lakhan Singh 3 for 38) and 131 (Gurinder Singh 4 for 21, Abhay Negi 4 for 39) lost to Meghalaya 141 (J. J. Lamare 70, S. Thakur 3 for 19, Licha Tehi 3 for 31, Subhash 3 for 47) and 157 for 3 (Punit Bisht 66 n.o., Yogesh Nagar 55 n.o.).