Patna: Bihar have taken control of the final Vijay Merchant Trophy U-16 Men’s Plate Group match against Tripura at Vikas Cricket Ground, Bhubaneswar. By the end of the third day’s play, Bihar had set a challenging target of 331 runs for Tripura. In response, Tripura managed 75 for 4 in 37 overs, leaving them with 256 runs to chase on the final day.
Bihar began the match by scoring 279 runs in 97.2 overs in their first innings. They followed it up with 208 runs in their second innings, securing an overall lead of 330 runs.
In the first innings, Sarthak Jha starred with an impressive 90 runs, while Mohit Kumar remained unbeaten with a vital 63 runs.
In the second innings, contributions from Animesh Raj (44), Pritam Raj (41), Vivek Anand (25), and Mohit Kumar (22) helped Bihar post a competitive total of 208.
Tripura’s bowlers performed well in patches. In the first innings, Prithiraj Gop took 3 wickets, while Subhdeep Paul and Kishan Sarkar grabbed 2 wickets each. Mahin and Omkar also chipped in with a wicket apiece. In the second innings, Siddharth Debnath led the attack with 4 wickets, supported by Mahin and Kishan, who claimed 2 wickets each.
Tripura’s second innings started cautiously but faced early setbacks. By stumps on Day 3, they had scored 75 runs for the loss of 4 wickets. Rajdeep remains unbeaten with a steady 34 runs, while Mainak Saha added 23 runs before being dismissed.
For Bihar, Mohit Kumar impressed with 2 wickets, while Animesh and Satyam took a wicket each.
With just one day remaining, Bihar are firmly in command, leaving Tripura with an uphill task to chase the remaining 256 runs. Bihar look poised to end their campaign on a high note.
