On this day in 1949 – Bihar defend record-lowest 78 against Delhi
78 runs. Well, that was the target that was set by Bihar for the Delhi side to win the Ranji Trophy encounter that took place between the two teams in January 1949. It should have been a stroll in the park, and nine out of ten times, you would expect the chasing side to canter home with ease. But then, Bihar produced a performance for the ages, and sensationally beat their opposition by 29 runs.
In this match, the Bihar outfit batted first and posted a total of 153 on the board. Sudhir Das top-scored with a fluent 49, while L Sterling helped himself to 25. Hargopal Singh was outstanding with the red cherry in hand and grabbed a five-wicket haul.
In reply, the Delhi outfit posted a total of 212 runs on the board. Tuljarim and Kishen Anand scored half-centuries for the Delhi side and helped them gain a handy lead of 59 runs in the first innings. In the second innings, Bihar could only post a total of 136 on the board. Not even a single batter crossed the 30-run mark for them, as Bihar set their opponents a target of 78 for victory.
Hargopal Singh and Laxmi Chand Saxena scalped three wickets each for the Delhi side. And, it was in the Delhi second innings that Shute Banerjee and Bose absolutely ripped through the Delhi batting lineup with their guile and magic with the ball.
Such was the pathetic batting display by the Delhi batters that 10 out of the 11 batters could not even score in double digits, and Delhi were bowled out for 48. Banerjee and Bose combined to scalp all 10 wickets of the Delhi side in the second innings, as Bihar produced one of the greatest turnarounds in Ranji trophy history. Yes, more than 7 decades have passed, but 23rd January 1949 will be remembered by cricketing aficionados for the historic performance delivered by the Bihar side against the Delhi outfit.
