Shillong, Nov 29: Meghalaya gave Maharashtra a good contest in their Vijay Hazare Trophy men’s one day tournament in Jaipur on Wednesday, with the latter winning the match by just four wickets.

Meghalaya made 227 all out in 47.5 overs and Maharashtra were in trouble at 60/4 before reaching the target for the loss of two more wickets with nearly 10 overs to spare.

Maharashtra won the toss and put Meghalaya into bat first but Raj Biswa and guest player Nakul Verma handled conditions well to make 112 for the first wicket. Both batters hit fifties, with Biswa making 56 and Verma 55.

This was the third half-century for Biswa in this format on the national scene and it came off 90 deliveries and included six fours and one six. For Verma, who has played a lot more cricket at this level, this was his 10th one day fifty and he, too, hit six fours and a six in an innings of 75 deliveries.

Both batters were dismissed by the 30th over and it was up to the rest to keep the scoreboard ticking. Kishan Lyngdoh, coming in at No. 4, struck 40 runs from 41 deliveries to give Meghalaya’s innings added impetus, while Swarajeet Das (24) and guest player Tanmay Mishra (23) added handy runs.

However, none were able to press on and their dismissals and the pressure to score at an even higher run rate saw Meghalaya lose their last seven wickets for 21 runs in 6.3 overs.

Still, Meghalaya had a decent total for their bowlers to try and defend and they began their effort in the field in a positive light.

Four top order Maharashtra wickets fell in the first 13 overs for just 60 runs and Meghalaya could sense an upset on the cards. However, Siddharth Mhatre, playing in just his first BCCI one day match, and NS Naik, who has previously been a member of two Indian Premier League teams, mounted a rescue effort together.

Mhatre smacked 12 fours in his 87 from 74 deliveries, while Naik finished unbeaten on 71 from 82 balls. Md Nafees gave Meghalaya two of the early breakthroughs and he finished with figures of 2/43 in 10 overs. Sanvert Kurkalang bagged the wicket of Mhatre and one other in the same over to claim 2/48 in 6.3 overs. Das also took 1/37 in 6.5 as well as pulling off a run out.

Meghalaya’s next match will be against Services on Friday.

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