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Jonathan Rongsen Longkumer '[/caption]
Eastern Mirror Desk
Dimapur, Jan. 19: As Nagaland made its debut in the country’s premier red-ball domestic cricket tournament, Ranji Trophy (Plate Group: which is a tier below the three Elite Groups), its captain Jonathan Rongsen Longkumer also had a stellar run in the league helping enhance his growing ‘household-name’ status.
Nagaland’s run in Ranji season 2018-17 lasted eight league games (two wins, four losses and two draws: not bad for a debut season). And in those eight matches, and 14 innings, skipper Longkumer amassed 809 runs at an average of 57.78 runs per innings.
His middle name Rongsen, literally means wealth in Ao Naga; and it certainly has been a bountiful season for him.
This aggregate—as of Jan. 19, comprising three quarterfinal matches ended the day—was the 12th highest among all batsmen across the tournament. He is by far the highest run-getter from among batsmen originally from the Northeast states in the Plate Group. (Assam plays in Elite Group C).
The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) allows guest players from other states to represent the Plate Group teams. Not counting those players, Longkumer was the top batsman among NE states.
Longkumer’s purple patch included a memorable run of successive centuries in the last three matches of the campaign. In Patna, playing against Bihar, he scored 100 in the second innings; followed by his highest score of 131 against Arunachal at home; and 123 in the first innings of the season’s last match, against Puducherry at home.
The BCCI website had listed Longkumer as joint-second (with four other batsmen) among those with the most number of half-centuries. He had six scored six half centuries, beside the three tons.
The skipper also was second only to Mumbai’s Shivam Dube among batsmen with the most number of sixes. He cleared the ropes 22 times, surpassed only by Dube’s 25 sixes.
On Saturday, Longkumer told Eastern Mirror he was honoured to have led Nagaland to its first Ranji outing. “We still have lots to improve to catch up with other big teams,” he said, adding that the players in Nagaland were talented but in need of experience (of professional cricket).
When asked what can be done to improve the state of cricket in Nagaland, Longkumer said that there should be talent hunts, more inter-district tournaments for under-14 age-groups, and most importantly the cricket clubs in Nagaland should take more interest and talk to the Nagaland Cricket Association.
“We need to host more tournaments, that is how I believe we will get better players and experience in Nagaland,” Longkumer suggested.