Cricket
Manipur U19 Women Create History: Thrash Sikkim by 120 Runs in the Women’s U19 T20 Trophy Plate
Cricket · Women’s U19 T20 Trophy Plate · Final · Match report
Manipur U19 Women Create History: Thrash Sikkim by 120 Runs in the Women’s U19 T20 Trophy Plate
Manipur U19 Women made 194/3, then thrashed Sikkim, bowling them out of the contest for 74/6 at Judges Field, Guwahati. It is Manipur’s first title in the tournament, and it takes them to the Elite.
Manipur 194/3. Sikkim 74/6.
In the Manipur vs Sikkim final at Judges Field, Guwahati, Manipur U19 Women beat Sikkim by 120 runs to win the Women’s U19 T20 Trophy Plate on Sunday, 18 October. Manipur had never won this tournament before, and the win means they will now play in the Elite. Kebriya’s unbeaten 85 built a total of 194/3, and the bowlers, led by Nonibala’s 3 for 10, held Sikkim to 74/6.
How Manipur won the Manipur vs Sikkim final
Sikkim won the toss and chose to field. Barkatun Alam and Kebriya answered with an opening stand of 108, which ended in the 12th over when Barkatun was caught off Khusi Kuikel for 62 off 46 balls. Captain Taniya Ningthoujam hit 18 before she was bowled by Diksha Chettri with the score at 171/2, and Creety Moirangthem added 11 off 7 at the end.
Kebriya was unbeaten on 85 off 51 balls, with 12 fours and 2 sixes. It was the highest individual score in any of the Manipur scorecards we have seen in this tournament, and a big step up from the 1 she made against Sikkim in Friday’s league game. Sikkim also bowled 14 wides in the innings, and extras were 17 in all.
The Manipur vs Sikkim final
Manipur 194/3. Sikkim 74/6. A first title, by 120 runs.
The bowlers close out the Manipur vs Sikkim final
In the Manipur vs Sikkim final, Sikkim never got going. They were 8/1 in the first over, 11/2 in the third, and 26/4 by the 8th over. Nonibala bowled Diksha Chettri and Rachal Rai and had captain Khusi Kuikel caught, for 3 for 10 in four overs. Rabina Khundrakpam took 2 for 13 in three overs, including a maiden, and Rachna Pandey was run out by A Thokchom for 7 off 17 balls.
Pema was unbeaten on 24 off 48 balls and Martha made 11 not out off 19, but Sikkim scored at 3.69 an over and finished 120 short. Barkatun Alam, who made 62 with the bat, also took two catches, and no Manipur bowler went for more than 5.50 an over.
| Bowler | O | M | R | W |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Nonibala | 4 | 0 | 10 | 3 |
| Rabina Khundrakpam | 3 | 1 | 13 | 2 |
| Rahamatun | 3 | 0 | 10 | 0 |
| Lingjen | 4 | 0 | 12 | 0 |
| Thokchom Puni Devi | 3 | 0 | 13 | 0 |
| Alice Thokchom | 2 | 0 | 11 | 0 |
| Barkatun Alam | 1 | 0 | 3 | 0 |
| Batter | How out | R | B |
|---|---|---|---|
| Rachna Pandey | run out (A Thokchom) | 7 | 17 |
| Snika Tamang | c BK Alam b Rabina Khundrakpam | 1 | 2 |
| Namreeta Rai | b Rabina Khundrakpam | 1 | 4 |
| Khusi Kuikel (c) | c BK Alam b Nonibala | 7 | 13 |
| Pema | not out | 24 | 48 |
| Diksha Chettri | b Nonibala | 3 | 5 |
| Rachal Rai | b Nonibala | 4 | 12 |
| Martha | not out | 11 | 19 |
Fall of wickets: 1-8 (Snika Tamang, 0.6 ov), 2-11 (Namreeta Rai, 2.2), 3-13 (Rachna Pandey, 4.3), 4-26 (Khusi Kuikel, 7.1), 5-30 (Diksha Chettri, 9.1), 6-46 (Rachal Rai, 13.6).
Taniya Ningthoujam, Player of the Series
Taniya Ningthoujam, the captain and wicketkeeper, was named Player of the Series. She made 124 runs in four innings across the tournament and was not out in three of them, including 56 off 36 balls against Tripura. In the Manipur vs Sikkim final she came in at 108/1 and made 18 off 14 balls before she was bowled by Diksha Chettri with the score at 171/2. Behind the stumps she had a hand in four of the ten Tripura dismissals, and she led a side that won all five matches.
The champions behind the Manipur vs Sikkim final win
The Manipur vs Sikkim final was won by a team, and the scorecards show it. The BCCI match centre does not publish a tournament-wide leaderboard for the Plate, so these figures come from the scorecards of all five Manipur matches.
| Player | Contribution |
|---|---|
| Taniya Ningthoujam (c, wk) | 124 runs in 4 innings, 3 not out; 56* (36) v Tripura; Player of the Series |
| Kebriya | 154 runs in 5 innings: 20, 14, 34*, 1 and 85* in the final |
| Barkatun Alam | 40* and 3/9 v Meghalaya; 62 and two catches in the final |
| Nonibala | 11 wickets in 5 matches: 3/13, 3/1, 2/16, 0/16 and 3/10 in the final |
| Rabina Khundrakpam | 7 wickets, including 4/8 v Nagaland and 2/13 in the final |
| Thokchom Puni Devi | 3 wickets in the league games |
Nonibala’s 11 wickets were the most for Manipur. Kebriya’s 85 not out in the final took her total to 154. Barkatun Alam’s 62 came after she had already taken 3 for 9 and scored an unbeaten 40 against Meghalaya. Across five matches Manipur took 40 wickets, and no opponent got past 102.
What the Elite means for Manipur’s young players
After the Manipur vs Sikkim final, the next step is the bigger stage. Manipur U19 Women will play in the Elite, where the standard and the attention are higher, and where every performance will be watched more closely. For a group of young players from the Northeast, that is the kind of platform that is rare, and it now has to be earned again.
For players with ambitions beyond the junior level, the Women’s Premier League is the clearest example of what the game now offers. For the 2026 season, each franchise had an auction purse of ₹15 crore. Smriti Mandhana, Nat Sciver-Brunt and Ashleigh Gardner were retained at ₹3.50 crore each, and Deepti Sharma (₹3.2 crore) and Amelia Kerr (₹3 crore) were among the biggest buys at the auction. At the other end, the WPL has set base prices for uncapped players at ₹10 lakh and ₹20 lakh, with capped players starting higher, at ₹30 lakh and above, according to the rules for the 2023 auction.
No place in the Elite or in the WPL is guaranteed to anyone, and where a player starts depends on her form, her fitness and her hard work, season after season. What this title gives Manipur’s players is a platform to show what they can do. Success is a journey, and for this team it has only just begun.
What the Manipur vs Sikkim final means
The Manipur vs Sikkim final, played under the Muthoot Fincorp Women’s U19 T20 Trophy Plate 2026-27 banner, gave the state its first title in this competition, and the Plate win means Manipur U19 Women will now play in the Elite. That is a bigger stage with more eyes on it, and a chance for these players to be seen by a wider cricket audience.
The win also matters on its own terms. This is the first time Manipur have won the Women’s U19 T20 Trophy. The Plate title comes from a side whose bowlers did not let any opponent past 102 in the league phase and then bowled Sikkim out of the final with 120 runs to spare. For women’s cricket in the Northeast, where the sport’s best stories are often told far from the main centres, it is a result worth recording.
