Manipur's 16-year-old Pheiroijam Singh becomes fourth Indian to take nine wickets on first-class debut

NEW DELHI: Sixteen-year-old Manipur medium pacer Pheiroijam Singh created history by becoming the fourth Indian bowler to take nine wickets on first-class debut.
The teenager achieved the milestone in the Ranji Trophy plate group match against Sikkim at Rangpo on Wednesday. The right-arm bowler returned figures of 22-5-69-9 that saw Manipur bowl out Sikkim for 220.
The other three bowlers to have taken nine wickets on their first-class debut are Vasant Ranjane (9/35, 1956-57), Amarjith Singh (9/45, 1971-72) and Sanjay Yadav (9/52, 2019-20).
It was the 10th best in first-class cricket history and the fourth best by an Indian on debut.
It was a one-way traffic for Pheiroijam who triggered the collapse on the second day as Sikkim continued to lose wickets from being 58 for no loss overnight.
He nearly became the first Indian to take all 10 wickets on first-class debut but it was Rex Rajkumar who dismissed Anwesh Sharma (39) to fold Sikkim's innings in 73.1 overs. Pheiroijam, albeit, played a role in the dismissal -- by taking the catch of Sharma.
Englishman Albert Moss (10/38 in 1889-90) and Fitz Hinds (10/36; 1900-01) are the only two in the history of cricket to bowl all 10 wickets in an innings on first-class debut.
Sikkim however had the upper hand and took a slender first innings lead and reduced Manipur to 59/4 at stumps on day two. Overall, Manipur lead by just 25 runs with six wickets intact.
Sumit Singh returned with figures of 3/23 as Manipur batters struggled to get a partnership going.
Brief Scores
At Rangpo: Manipur 186 and 59/4; 19 overs (Basir Rahman 23 batting; Sumit Singh 3/23). Sikkim 220; 73.1 overs (Sumit Singh 47, Arun Chettri 41; Pheiroijam Singh 9/69). Manipur lead by 25 runs. Match to continue.
At Patna: Arunachal Pradesh 212. Bihar 367/4; 103 overs (Adhiraj Johri 118, Yashasvi Rishav 65, Sakibul Gani 66 batting). Bihar lead by 155 runs. Match to continue.
At Nadiad: Mizoram 252 and 37/3; 23 overs. Meghalaya 171; 67.4 overs (Kishan Lyngdoh 40, Rajesh Bishnoi 35 batting; Avinash Yadav 6/39). Mizoram lead by 118 runs. Match to continue.
(With PTI Inputs)