Wriddhiman Saha leads Tripura to tense win over Nagaland

DIMAPUR — In a hard-fought match at the Abhimanyu Cricket Academy, Dehradun, the Nagaland Senior Men’s Cricket Team was defeated by Tripura by three wickets in 19.5 overs in the ongoing Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy on Tuesday.

After winning the toss, Nagaland captain Jonathan Rongsen chose to bat first, and the two Nagaland openers, Sedezhalie Rupreo (31 runs) and Joshua Ben Longkumer (46 runs), provided a solid start with a partnership of 82 runs in 12 overs, and it looked like Nagaland was on their way to posing a big total on the scoreboard.

However, the Tripura team’s disciplined bowling attack led by AS Sarkar was crucial, as he took the two important wickets of Joshua Ben Longkumer and Sumit Kumar (21 runs), who were looking good and connecting the ball to hit some glorious fours and sixes, according to an update.

Later, the experienced duo of Jonathan Rongsen (13 runs not out) and Hokaito Zhimomi (8 runs) combined to put 129 runs on the board, with Tripura requiring 130 runs to win on a tricky pitch.

Tripura’s opener Bikram Kumar Das (4 runs) was dismissed in the first over by Nagaland’s bowler Jaganath Sinivas, who engaged Imliwati for a beautiful catch at the deep. However, the national icon Wriddhiman Saha, who is currently captaining Tripura, led the charge with a brilliant 41-run knock.

Tripura’s other notable run scorers were N Sen Choudhury (28 runs) and RA Dey (24 runs), while AK Sarma drew the curtains with a six to win the game.

Nagaland’s Jaganath Sinivas took three wickets, while Tahmeed Rehman and the teenage sensation Khrievitso Kense took two and one wickets, respectively.

Rain had previously washed out Nagaland’s first match against Madhya Pradesh. The team’s next game will be against Delhi on October 19 at 11:00 a.m. at the Maharana Pratap College Ground in Dehradun.

On all Jio applications and Sports18 channel, live matches are streamed.

Also read: Nagaland squad for Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy 2023-24 announced