NEW DELHI: Bihar capitalised on opener Piyush Singh’s brilliant second-innings double century and incisive spells from Suraj Kashyap and Himanshu Singh to crush Manipur by a massive 568 runs in the Plate final, sealing a triumphant return to the Ranji Trophy Elite Group on Monday.

Bihar, whose Ranji Trophy journey has seen its share of ups and downs, had briefly made it to the Elite Group in the 2022-23 season before slipping back to the Plate Group in 2024-25.

Now back in the top tier, the team is pushing forward with a rebuilding phase under skipper Sakibul Gani, anchored by the promise of teenage batting prodigy Vaibhav Suryavanshi.

Bihar pile on the runs

On Monday, Bihar set Manipur an improbable target of 764 after Raghuvendra Pratap Singh fell just short of a century, dismissed for his overnight score of 90, prompting the declaration at 505 for 6 in the second innings.

Earlier, Bihar had scored 522 in the first innings and then dismissed Manipur for 264. In the second essay, spinners Suraj Kumar Kashyap (3/32) and Himanshu Singh (3/49) shared three wickets each on the fifth and final day.

The architects of the emphatic win were skipper Gani (108) and Bipin Saurabh (143), who struck fine centuries in the first innings, and Piyush Singh, who followed it up with an unbeaten 216 off 322 balls in the second innings as Bihar piled on the runs against a hapless Manipur.

Manipur crumbles under pressure

Bihar declared after just nine balls on the final day, with Raghuvendra unable to add to the team’s overnight total of 505, giving Gani the chance to attack Manipur with a full day of bowling.

Manipur quickly found themselves in trouble at 50 for 5 inside 14 overs, collapsing further to 70 for 7 by the 23rd over before a rearguard effort from 19-year-old Pheiroijam Jotin (74 off 102 balls) temporarily delayed the inevitable.

Jotin then added 83 runs for the eighth wicket with L. Kishan Singha (30 off 76 balls), showing determination to deny Bihar an outright win. Once the partnership was broken in the 44th over, with pacer Akash Raj removing Kishan Singha, the victory became certain. Jotin fell a few overs later, ending Manipur’s resistance.

Earlier this month, Bihar had also secured promotion to the Elite League in the Vijay Hazare Trophy, defeating Manipur by six wickets in the final.

(With PTI Inputs)