Assam set to drive final nail in Bihar coffin

Hosts Assam were on the brink of handing Bihar an innings defeat in their Ranji Trophy East Zone clash at the Tinsukia District Sports Association ground on Saturday. At stumps on the second day, Bihar were in poor shape at 126/8 in their second innings when stumps were drawn, requiring 30 more runs to make their opponents bat again. Earlier Assam were dismissed for 241 which gave them a healthy first innings lead of 156.

In the morning, Tripura lost all rounder Ganesh Kumar with just nine runs having accrued to the overnight score of 122/5. Kumar became wicketkeeper MS Dhoni's second victim, the bowler being the persevering Mihir Diwakar. A recovery was launched by Sunil Subramaniam and Sukhvinder Singh, who added 78 for the seventh wicket.

Former Tamil Nadu left arm spinner Subramaniam, who took his 250th wicket in the Ranji Trophy earlier this season as Assam's professional, was not called on to bowl in either innings. He contributed 26 in the role of a specialist batsman but it was the lefthanded Sukhvinder, batting at No.8, who top scored with a useful 47. Opening bowler Diwakar was the most successful, scalping three wickets although it came at the considerable expense of 73 runs from 16 overs.

Assam seamer Gautam Dutta proceeded to destroy the upper echelons of the Bihar batting, taking out the first four men with the score having reached 44. Perhaps the most crucial of those scalps was the last victim, skipper Rajiv Kumar, who fell at 44. Just when Sunil Kumar and skipper Tariquer Rehman were attempting a recovery, left arm spinner Sukhbinder nipped the prospects with a three wicket haul in the space of four successive overs he bowled to leave Bihar at 81/7. Off the last ball of the day, Diwakar was caught in R Borah's first over leaving the battling Rehman, who was still unbeaten on 49, to salvage Assam's dim prospects on Sunday in the company of the tail.