Shillong, April 20: Meghalaya took a first innings lead over Mizoram on day three of their Col CK Nayudu Trophy plate group match in Cuttack on Wednesday.

Meghalaya finished the day in commanding position on 283/6, with a lead of 57. A lot of the credit has to go to Abhishek Gupta and captain Swastic Chettri, both of whom deserved centuries but fell short, each getting out for 98.

Resuming their first innings on Wednesday morning on 19/0, Meghalaya’s first task was to overhaul Mizoram’s total of 226 from Tuesday.

Meghalaya lost overnight batter Ibitlang Thabah for 15 and his partner Arien B Sangma for 20. At this point, the team were 54/2 but Gupta and Chettri then came together to stitch a crucial third wicket partnership worth 164 runs. Unfortunately, the ‘nervous nineties’ caught them both out but the batting responsibility was taken by Md Asif Khan, who made 43 before getting out.

At the crease at the end were Bipin Kumar Ray and Agreas Chamcham Sangma, both of whom have yet to get off the mark.