Aman's maiden century puts Bihar in command against Mizoram

Skipper Ashutosh Aman led from the front with a maiden century as Bihar recovered from a top-order collapse to notch up a commanding 389 for seven against Mizoram in their Ranji Trophy Plate Group match here Sunday.

Sent in, Bihar were tottering at 60 for four with Lalhruai Ralte (4/88) wreaking havoc but batting at no 8, Aman (108 not out), steered a rearguard recovery with MD Rahamatullah (99) by putting on 127 runs for the seventh wicket.

Rahamatullah missed his second successive century by one run after being run out by Mizoram skipper S Zorinliana.

But Aman remained calm at the other end to register his maiden first-class century and remained unbeaten on 108 from 157 balls with the help of 134 boundaries.

At stumps, Bihar left-arm spinner Aman, who is the leading wicket-taker this season with 51 wickets from 10 innings at an average of 5.54, had an unbroken 144-run partnership with Vivek Kumar (94 batting).

Second-placed Bihar are 10 points behind leaders Uttarakhand with a match in hand in the Plate Group, from where one team will make the cut to the quarterfinals.

Meanwhile at the Nagaland Cricket Stadium in Dimapur, the hosts made a dominating start against Arunachal Pradesh taking a 17-run lead with all wickets intact on the opening day.

After bowling out Arunachal for 135 inside 55 overs, Nagaland made an excellent start, reaching 152 for no loss with Paras Sehrawat (87 batting) and Sedezhalie Rupero (62 batting) at the crease.

Brief Scores: