Milind's Hits Double Ton as Sikkim Eye Maiden Win in Ranji Trophy

Kolkata, Nov 2 (PTI) Sikkim rode on Milind Kumar's sensational 261 to inch closer to a big win over Manipur in their debut Ranji Trophy Plate group match here Friday.

Starting at overnight personal score of 202, the former Delhi batsman's marathon innings came to an end after an hour's play on the day after being trapped by Manipur captain Yashpal Singh with the team posting a huge 372.

In reply, Manipur were shot out for 79 in 28 overs with Gujarat recruit Ishwar Chaudhary claiming four for 37, while Bipul Sharma (3/17) accounting for three wickets.

Following on, Manipur showed restraint in their second essay as they were 132 for 2 with Lakhan Rawat (62 batting) and skipper Yashpal Singh (48 batting) at the crease.

However it's still a big ask for Manipur to avoid an innings defeat as they still needed 170 runs to make Sikkim bat again.

The Sikkim scorecard looked unusual as seven batsmen had single digit scores, three managed to get to double digits but Milind's knock, that accounted for more than 70 per cent of the runs, made all the difference.

Milind has been around since 2011 when he made his first-class debut for Delhi.

He had a dream debut, scoring 119 in the first innings against Haryana at the Roshanara Ground in Delhi.

However, over the course of seven years, Milind has only managed 29 first-class games, with a second century and six fifties to go with his maiden double.

At the Nagaland Cricket Stadium in Sovima, Karnataka import Arbar Kazi followed up his fine show with his off-spinners (4/20) with a unbeaten maiden double hundred to put Nagaland in sniffing distance of a win against Mizoram.

In reply to Mizoram's 106, Nagaland declared their first innings at 530 for 8 with Kazi sharing a 149-run partnership with Mughavi Wotsa (58).

Skipper Jonathan Rongsen and Imliwati Lemtur (50) also scored half-centuries.

At close on day two, Mizoram were 16 for 2 in their second essay still trailing by 408 runs.

Brief Scores:

In Kolkata: Sikkim 372 in 112.2 overs (Milind Kumar 261, Bipul Sharma 45; Shelley Shaurya 4/39, Rex Singh 3/97) vs Manipur 79 in 28 overs (Ishwar Chaudhary 4/37, Bipul Sharma 3/17) and 123/2 in 34 overs (Lakhan Rawat 62 batting, Yashpal Singh 48 batting).

In Dehradun: Bihar 60 and 169 in 50.5 overs (Sunny Kashyap 4/51, Deepak Dhapola 3/48) vs Uttarakhand 227 in 71.3 overs (Karanveer Kaushal 91, Saurabh Rawat 63; Ashutosh Aman 4/34, Samar Quadri 3/77) and 4 for no loss.

In Shillong: Arunachal Pradesh 166 in 64.3 overs (Samarth Seth 50; Gurinder Singh 5/50, Lakhan Singh 3/38) and 104/6 in 41 overs (Kshitiz Sharma 41; Abhay Negi 3/29) vs Meghalaya 141 in 40 overs (Jason Lamare 70; Licha Tehi 3/31, Subhash Sharma 3/47, Sandeep Thakur 3/19).

In Dimapur: Mizoram 106 and 16/2 vs Nagaland 530/8 declared in 117.2 overs (Arbar Kazi 200, Jonathan Rongsen 72, Mughavi Wotsa 58, Imliwati Lemtur 50).

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