Patna: Bihar faced a crushing defeat against Uttar Pradesh in the Ranji Trophy Elite Group C match at the Moin-ul-Haque Stadium in Patna. Uttar Pradesh triumphed by an innings and 119 runs on Sunday, earning 7 points. With this victory, UP’s tally reached 13 points from six matches, while Bihar remains with just 1 point.
Uttar Pradesh’s next match is against Madhya Pradesh in Indore, while Bihar will face Kerala in their final match. Uttar Pradesh captain Aryan Juyal was declared Player of the Match.
Bihar’s Struggle in the Tournament
This marks Bihar’s fourth innings defeat this season, following losses to Punjab (by an innings and 67 runs), Madhya Pradesh (by an innings and 108 runs), and Haryana (by an innings and 43 runs). Their match against Bengal was abandoned due to bad weather, with both teams sharing a point.
With only 1 point, Bihar faces the threat of relegation to the Plate Group. Puducherry has 2 points, while Meghalaya has none, making the battle for survival in the Elite Group highly competitive.
Final Day Performance
Resuming their second innings at 130 for five, Bihar’s Ayush Loharuka and Sachin Kumar Singh put up a 105-run partnership. Ayush fell for 49, narrowly missing a half-century. Sachin, who scored 50 runs off 134 balls with eight boundaries, was run out while attempting a risky single.
Veer Pratap Singh contributed 29 runs off 43 balls, while Himanshu Singh added 16 runs. The rest of the batting line-up crumbled, and Bihar was all out for 236 runs in 90.4 overs.
For Uttar Pradesh, Shivam Sharma was the standout bowler, taking five wickets for 58 runs. Saurabh Kumar and Vaibhav Chaudhary chipped in with two and one wicket, respectively.
Bihar’s dismal performance in the Ranji Trophy raises serious concerns, with their survival in the Elite Group hanging by a thread.
