Nagaland openers Dega Nischal and Imliwati Lemtur played the innings of their lives to help their team to pull off a memorable draw against a strong Tamil Nadu side in their Ranji Trophy Group A clash at Nagaland Cricket Stadium, Sovima, Dimapur.
However, Tamil Nadu, led by Sai Kishore, took home three points for their first-innings lead; Nagaland’s gritty batting effort ensured they avoided what once looked like an innings defeat.
Gurjapneet Singh's hat-trick goes in vain
The momentum of the game was in favour of Tamil Nadu during the early stages of the game when young left-arm pacer Gurjapneet Singh, who was a part of Chennai Super Kings (CSK) in the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2025, ripped through Nagaland's top order with a hat-trick on day two, leaving them reeling at 3 for 9. But Nischal and Lemtur had other plans.
Nagaland's performance vs Tamil Nadu
After Tamil Nadu's mammoth 512 for 3 declared, powered by Pradosh Ranjan Paul’s 201 and Vimal Khumar’s 189, the Nagaland pair responded with remarkable patience and determination to shift the momentum of the game.
Nischal scored a superb 175, while Lemtur made a fighting 146, the duo batting together for nearly two days to steer Nagaland to a defiant 446 all out in 157.4 overs.
Resuming the final day on 161 and 115 not out, the two continued to frustrate Tamil Nadu’s bowlers. Nischal added 14 more runs before falling to pacer RS Ambrish, while Lemtur went on to add 31 more before being the last man dismissed in the 158th over.
With Nagaland’s valiant effort leaving no chance of a result, the captains shook hands to confirm the draw, a hard-earned one that will be remembered for the determination shown by their openers.
Brief scores:
Tamil Nadu 1st innings 512/3 decl in 115 overs drew with Nagaland 446 in 157.4 overs (Dega Nischal 175, Yugandhar Singh 67, Imliwati Lemtur 146; Gurjapneet Singh 4/75, DT Chandrasekar 3/69).