Continuing his dream season, Bihar skipper Ashutosh Aman put up an all-round show to steer his side to an innings and 216-run win over Mizoram in their Ranji Trophy Plate Group fixture here Tuesday.
Leg-spinner Samar Quadri also played a crucial role with a 10-wicket match haul that included 4/50 in the second innings.
The bonus point victory helped Bihar (34 points) cut down the deficit to three points against leaders Uttarakhand with final round to go.
Bihar will face Manipur, while Uttarakhand take on the bottom-placed Mizoram from January 7-10, in a two-way race for the lone quarterfinal spot from the Plate Group.
This was Aman's eighth five-wicket haul as he now has 57 wickets at an astounding average of 5.80 from 12 innings.
Aman had top-scored with 111 while Vivek Kumar (102) also cracked a century and MD Rahmatullah made 99 in Bihar's 440 for nine declared.
In reply, Mizoram were bowled out for 77 and following-on, they managed to cross the 100-run mark in the second innings, thanks to a 52-run stand for the sixth wicket between Taruwar Kohli (76) and Sinan Abdul Khadir after resuming the day at 81 for five.
Aman broke the partnership when he pinned Khadir for 15.
Mizoram lost their last four wickets for the addition of just 15 runs with Aman claiming 5/28, including the scalp of Taruwar for 76.
Quadri claimed 4/50 as Mizoram folded for 147 in 62.2 overs to suffer their sixth defeat to remain at the bottom of the table with one point from seven matches.
At the KIIT Stadium in Bhubaneswar, four Meghalaya batsmen notched triple figures with former Delhi wicketkepper Puneet Bisht leading the show with a career-best 343 as Sikkim stared a big defeat.
Meghalaya declared their first innings for a mammoth 826 for seven to take a massive 607-run first innings lead. The three other centurions for Meghalaya were Raj Biswa (175), Yogesh Nagar (148) and Gurinder Singh 101 not out.
At close, Sikkim were 72 for two in their second essay, trailing by 535 runs with eight wickets in hand.
Brief Scores:
In Bhubaneswar: Sikkim 219 and 72 for 2 in 33 overs (Nilesh Lamichaney 38 batting) vs Meghalaya 826 for 7 declared in 171.4 overs (Puneet Bisht 343, Raj Biswa 175, Yogesh Nagar 148, Gurinder Singh 101 not out).
In Dimapur: Arunachal Pradesh 135 and 122 in 53.5 overs (Techi Doria 33; Arbar Kazi 6/22) vs Nagaland 377/9 declared. Nagaland won by an innings and 120 runs. Points Nagaland 7, Arunachal Pradesh 0.
In Jorhat: Bihar 440/9 declared (Ashutosh Aman 111, Vivek Kumar 102, MD Rahmatullah 99; Lalhruai Ralte 5/122) vs Mizoram 77 and following on 147 in 62.2 overs (Taruwar Kohli 76; Aman 5/28, Samar Quadri 4/50). Bihar won by an innings and 216 runs. Points Bihar 7, Mizoram 0.
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