Bihar spinner Aman breaks Bedi’s record; Uttarakhand qualify
Bihar left-arm spinner Ashutosh Aman etched his name in record books, surpassing the great Bishan Singh Bedi as the highest wicket-taker in a Ranji Trophy season after claiming his 65th scalp here on Wednesday.Bihar defeated Manipur by three wickets, while Uttarakhand sealed the lone quarterfinal spot from the Plate Group with a bonus point win over Mizoram in the Plate Group.The 32-year-old Aman achieved the feat when he trapped Manipur’s Sagatpam Singh lbw for his 65th wicket and eclipsed former India captain Bedi’s tally of 64 wickets for Delhi in 1974-75.
An employee of Indian Air Force, Aman, ended up with 7/71 against Manipur in the second innings to end the season with 68 wickets from 14 innings at an average of 6.48.
Resuming the day at 217/7 in their second innings and with a lead of 116, Manipur were bundled out for 238, with Aman claiming all the three wickets at the Moin-ul-Haq Stadium here.Chasing 138, Bihar were tottering at 43/5 before Mangal Mehrur (53) led a solid fightback while Aman remained unbeaten on 22 to seal a tense three-wicket chase.Needing just a win to edge out Bihar, Uttarakhand secured a massive innings and 56 run-win over Mizoram at the Rajiv Gandhi International Cricket Stadium in Dehradun.
Uttarakhand topped the table with 44 points with Bihar finishing second with 40 points.Resuming the day for 32/1 following on, Mizoram could only manage 123 runs in reply to Uttarakhand’s 377 with Rajat Bhatia claiming 4/17.
Taruwar Kohli waged the lone battle for Mizoram with a valiant 68 in the second essay to go with his 96 in the first innings and was adjudged man-of-the-match.
For Uttarakhand, Mayank Mishra took 3/29 while Sunny Rana claimed 2/14.Uttarakhand will be taking on the combined table-topper from Group A and B.
Brief Scores In Dehradun: Uttarakhand 377. Mizoram 198 and following-on123; 59 overs (Taruwar Kohli 68; Rajat Bhatia 4/17, Mayank Mishra 3/29). Uttarakhand won by an innings and 56 runs. Points: Uttarakhand 7, Mizoram 0.
