Nothing is going right in Bihar cricket as a bizarre scene unfolded on Friday leading to a delay in their Ranji Trophy match against Mumbai at the Moin-ul-Haq stadium.
On Friday two teams claimed to be the Ranji Trophy squad of Bihar, turned up for the match against Mumbai. The confusion subsequently led to a delayed start to the game after heated exchanges and a scuffle between the officials of the Bihar Cricket Association, which required intervention from the local police. The match eventually began around 1 pm.
Of the two teams that reached the ground early in the morning, the one picked by the BCA president c played the game. The other that had the blessings of Secretary Amit Kumar was left high and dry.
BCA later released a statement on Friday blaming suspended secretary Amit for the chaos, which included picking a fake team and attacking an official of the board. “There was a life-threatening attack on BCA’s OSD Manoj Kumar by those involved in the fake team. The miscreants have been identified and action will be taken against them,” the statement read.
Talking about the match, put to bat first, Mumbai finished the opening day with 235 for nine, where three batters - opener Bhupen Lalwani, Suved Parkar and Tanush Kotian - scored their respective fifties. Veer Pratap Singh was the pick of the bowlers for Bihar with his 4 for 32 while Sakibul Gani and Himanshu Singh picked two apiece. Veteran India batter Ajinkya Rahane, who was the main attraction at the venue among the fans, however, was benched for the match.
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