Ranji Trophy | Plate Group : Day 1 : Bihar collapsed for 60 as Milind Kumar scores a double ton

Brief Scores: Bihar 60 all out in 22.1 overs ( Vivek 13; D Dhapola 6 for 13) and Team Uttarakhand 201 for 7 ( Karanveer Kaushal 91; Samar Quadri 3 for 68).

It was a horrible comeback for Bihar to the Ranji Trophy after a long hiatus as they slipped to 60 all out and gave a huge lead of 141 runs to their opposition. After being put into bat, most of the Bihar’s batsmen were not even able to touch the double figures. Having finished as the highest wicket-taker for Uttarakhand in the Vijay Hazare Trophy, Deepak Dhopola's fine run of form in his maiden domestic season continued as the seamer picked up 6 for 13 to bowl Bihar out for 60. In reply, Uttarakhand innings lost two early wickets but the third wicket partnership between opener Karanveer Kaushal (91) and Saurabh Rawat (64 runs) saved the day for them. At the end of the day, Uttarakhand were 201 for the loss of seven wickets.

After Sikkim lost the toss they were put in to bat and it was a gritty performance by Milind Kumar which saved Sikkim from a potential collapse. He made an unbeaten 202 runs. At one stage, Sikkim were tottering at 15 runs for the loss of five wickets after which Milind with the help of various partnerships with the lower middle order and the lower order gave a strong score of 299 for 9 for his team. Apart from Milind, B Sharma (45) and Lee Yong Lepcha (25) also played their part to perfection. Manipur bowlers let go of the advantage as they struggled to get wickets thereafter. For Manipur Shelly Shaurya and Rex picked four and three wickets respectively.

Mizoram won the toss and chose to bat first which proved to be a bad decision as they were all out for a paltry total of 106. Apart from Taruwar Kohli (49) and Akhil Rajput (28), no other batsmen for Mizoram looked ready to stay on the crease for long. Abrar Kazi picked four wickets for Nagaland apart from Pawan Suyal who chipped in with two wickets. Nagaland batsmen started their innings on steady note with openers putting up a 64-run partnership for the first wicket. Jonathan was the highest scorer for them with 70 runs staying unbeaten at the end of the day’s play. Akhil Rajput was the pick of the bowlers for Nagaland with 2 wickets for the loss of 1 run.

After winning the toss, Meghalaya chose to field first and that turned out to be a good decision as they bundled Arunachal Pradesh for 166 runs which had only one player reaching the half-century mark. Gurinder Singh was the performer of the day picking a fifer for Meghalaya. Even the Meghalaya innings collapsed and they were tottering at 87 for the loss of six wickets at the end of the day’s play. Licha Tehi and Subhash picked three and two wickets respectively for Arunachal Pradesh.