Bihar maintained complete dominance over Arunachal Pradesh on Day 2 of the Ranji Trophy Plate match at the Moin-ul-Haq Stadium, Patna, with both bat and ball firing in tandem. After putting up a commanding
542/9 declared in their first innings, the hosts reduced Arunachal to 94/3 in the second innings at the close of play, leaving them trailing by 343 runs as Arunachal were bowled out for 105 runs in the first innings.
Vaibhav Suryavanshi set the tempo early with a blistering 14 off just five balls, smashing two fours and a six to launch Bihar's innings in aggressive fashion. The 14-year-old, who has been appointed as Bihar's vice-captain, scored at a strike rate of 280 in his very shortlived knock, scoring all of it in boundaries.
His explosive start was just the prelude to the batting carnage that followed, led by Ayush Loharuka's majestic 226 and Sachin Kumar's counter-attacking 75. Bihar's batting depth allowed captain Sakibul Gani's side to post a mammoth total before declaring.
Bihar Cricket Association (BCA) President Harsh Vardhan on Thursday lauded young batter Ayush Loharuka for his double century.
"It is great to see Ayush living up to the expectations with such a commanding performance. His double hundred is not just a personal milestone but also a reflection of Bihar's growing cricketing strength," Harsh Vardhan said.
"We have been consistently working at the grassroots level, and performances like these show that our young players are ready to rise to big occasions and make Bihar proud," he added.
Sakib Hussain then stole the spotlight with the ball, continuing his red-hot form after taking six wickets in Arunachal's first innings for just 33 runs. He again delivered incisive spells in the second essay, striking early to remove Techi Doria and Neelam Obi. His searing pace and precision left the visitors reeling, with only Techi Neri (29*) and Abhinav Singh (25*) offering resistance.
