SILCHAR, Dec 3 - Assam faced a crushing defeat by an innings and 28 runs against Madhya Pradesh in the Col CK Nayudu Trophy here at the Satindra Mohan Dev Stadium.
Tottering at an overnight score of 60 for four, the whole team was bundled out for 156 runs in 41.3 overs in the morning session of the fourth and final day requiring another 28 runs to put Madhya Pradesh to bat again. Along with tailender Nipan Deka (44), opener Biplab Saikia played a gutsy knock of 70 runs off 120 balls to stretch the inevitable loss till lunch. Rajarshi Srivastava picked six wickets in the match while Gaurav Patel chipped in with three wickets.
Later, talking to The Assam Tribune, Madhya Pradesh skipper Ajay Rohera said the win was satisfactory and the team is looking forward to the match against Delhi. �Picking up 20 wickets takes a big effort for any team and credit goes to our bowlers,� Rohera said.
On the other hand, Assam captain Abhishek Thakuri admitted that they could not play well which cost them the match. In his words, the wicket started turning from the second day and the batters of the home team failed to capitalise. �We have three batsman scoring 50s and our bowlers picked five wickets. But we allowed the opponent spinners to dominate us which let us down. But we are hoping to rectify the mistakes in the match at Hyderabad,� Thakuri added.
Brief scores: MP 1st Innings: 401
Assam 1st Innings: 217
Assam 2nd Innings (following on): 156 (Biplab Saikia 70, Nipan Deka, Abhishek Thakuri 19; Rajarshi Srivastava 6/76).
