Bihar maintains red-hot form with 292-run defeat of Sikkim

Having posted 338-6 batting first, Bihar bowled Sikkim out for 46.

Vineet Saxena's unbeaten 66 led Uttarakhand to an eight-wicket win over Meghalaya.

There is no stopping Bihar. Coming back to the List A fold after 18 years, the state has played some high-quality cricket in the Vijay Hazare Trophy so far, and maintaining its form, the side defeated Sikkim by 292 runs.

At the Shastri Maidan in Anand, Bihar rode on Mohammed Rahmat ullah’s knock of 156 to put up 338-6. While Rahmat ullah played a breezy innings in 103 balls, he retired hurt. Even though the side lost opener Vikas Ranjan early, Rahmat ullah partnered with Babul Kumar —who scored 92— to steady the ship. Taking advantage of a toothless Sikkim bowling attack, the batsmen went on a rampage and put Bihar in a comfortable position.

As it happened

Chasing a mammoth total, Sikkim — which does not have any professional guest players in its ranks — was bundled out for just 46 in 31 overs. Padam Limboo was the top scorer with 12 runs. For Bihar, Anunay Singh and captain Keshav Kumar picked up three wickets apiece.

This win helped Bihar reach 22 points and coach Subroto Banerjee is happy with the way his wards have performed so far. “We have peaked at the right time and it will be important to keep the momentum going,” Banerjee said. The coach is also excited with Rahmat ullah’s performance. “He did not get runs in the last few games, so he initially took time to settle down but slowly he went hammer and tongs at the Sikkim bowlers,” Banerjee said.

In the other fixture of the day, Nagaland defeated Manipur by nine wickets at the G. S. Patel Stadium in Nadiad. Put in to bat, Manipur was bundled out for 144 in 43.3 overs. Yashpal Singh played a knock of 41 and Priyojit Singh chipped in with 35, but those were not enough to lift the scores. In reply, Sedezhalie Rupero’s unbeaten 52 and K. B. Pawan’s unbeaten 50 helped Nagaland reach 147-1 in 34.2 overs.

At the Motibagh Stadium in Vadodara, Uttarakhand defeated Meghalaya by eight wickets. Winning the toss and opting to field, Uttarakhand rode on a three-wicket haul by Vaibhav Bhatt to restrict Meghalaya to 141 in 41.2 overs. With the top order failing again, Meghalaya looked hapless from the start, though Yogesh Nagar contributed 44 runs, that was not enough. In reply, Vineet Saxena’s unbeaten 66 guided the Uttarakhand side home in just 31 overs.