Vijay Shankar smacks 91 in TN's seven-wicket win over Bihar

: All-rounder Vijay Shankar marked his return from injury with a superb knock of 91 (88 balls, 6 fours, 1 six) to power Tamil Nadu to a seven-wicket win over Bihar in a Vijay Hazare Trophy Group C match here on Saturday.

Tamil Nadu made 218 for 3 in 46.5 overs in reply to Bihar's 217 for 7 in 50 overs to notch up a third straight victory.

Shankar, who missed the ODIs and 'Tests' against India 'A' series against South Africa 'A', bowled six overs to pick up 1 for 17 from six overs and then unfurled a series of superb shots to showcase his form.

Earlier, captain Babul Kumar made 110 (136 balls, 12 fours, 1 six) as Bihar recovered from a poor start to make 217 after electing to bat.

Babul Kumar added 89 runs for the third wicket with Rahmat Ullah (38, 52 balls, 7 fours) and 93 runs with Keshav Kumar (35, 74 balls, 3 fours) for the fourth wicket.

Babul Kumar's fine knock, during which he looked in complete control, contained some lovely shots on both sides of the wicket. His dismissal saw Bihar lose way and end up with only 217.

Openers Abhinav Mukund and N Jagadeesan provided a solid start for Tamil Nadu, putting on 59 runs before the latter fell for 37 (40 balls, 5 fours) to Samar Quadri.

Jagadeesan fell ten runs later, to Sachin Kumar Singh (24).

The dismissal of C Hari Nishaanth with the score at 75 brought B Aparajith (52 not out, 66 balls, 1 four) and Vijay Shankar together.

While Shankar was in an aggressive mood and hit some beautiful shots, Aparajith was content to work the ball around and rotate strike.

Brief scores: Bihar 217 for 7 in 50 overs (Babul Kumar 110, Rahmat Ullah 38, Keshav Kumar 35, M Mohammed 3/33) lost to Tamil Nadu 218 for 3 in 46.5 overs (Vijay Shankar 91 not out, B Aparajith 52 not out). TN: 4 points, Bihar: 0.

Gujarat 281 for 9 in 50 overs (Parthiv Patel 90, B H Merai 69, Ishwar Pandey 4/46, Gourav Yadav 3/46) beat Madhya Pradesh 246 all out in 50 overs (Rajat Patidar 71, A Nagwaswalla 3/50). Gujarat: 4 points, MP: 0.

Services 276 for 6 in 50 overs (N H Verma 52, Ravi Chauhan 49, AA Nandi 2/33) lost Bengal 277 for 6 in 49.4 overs (Abhishek Raman 106, Wriddhiman Saha 43). Bengal: 4 points, Services: 0.