Lucknow: Half-centuries by Aaradhya Yadav and Zeeshan Ansari helped Uttar Pradesh post a mammoth 540 runs in 153.1 overs before their bowlers reduced Bihar to 44/2 at stumps on Day 2 of their Ranji Trophy match at the Rajgir Stadium on Monday.Bihar trail Uttar Pradesh by 496 runs with eight wickets in hand.After Uttar Pradesh were bowled out after tea, Bihar openers Mangal Mahrour and Piyush Singh added 40 runs off 78 balls for the first wicket.Mahrour scored 25 before he was caught by Abhishek Goswami off Kartik Tyagi. Ayush Loharuka then joined Piyush but was dismissed for a duck by Karan Sharma, leaving Bihar at 41/2 in 15.1 overs. At stumps, Piyush Singh was unbeaten on 16, with Amod Yadav at the other end, as Bihar reached 44/2 in 18 overs.Earlier, Uttar Pradesh resumed the day at 287/3 in 84 overs. Overnight centurion Rinku Singh could add only three runs to his score before being dismissed by Amod Yadav for 112 in the 86th over. His dismissal ended a 207-run partnership off 315 balls with Madhav Kaushik for the fourth wicket.Kaushik, who added 26 runs to his overnight score, then combined with Aaradhya Yadav for an 82-run standoff 147 balls. The partnership was broken shortly before lunch when Kaushik was caught by Prithvi Raj off Suraj Kashyap for 374/5 in 109.3 overs.Aaradhya continued to bat solidly and found support from Zeeshan Ansari, who was making a return to Ranji Trophy cricket after six years. The pair added 69 runs off 122 balls for the sixth wicket before Aaradhya fell for 84 off 147 balls, hitting seven fours and two sixes.Zeeshan went on to score his second first-class half-century, making 58 off 97 balls before he was dismissed by Bihar captain Sakibul Gani at 491/9 in 147.3 overs. Kartik Yadav contributed 3 and Yash Dayal made 10.Uttar Pradesh’s innings received a late boost from Abhinandan Singh and Kartik Tyagi, who added 49 off 34 balls for the final wicket. Abhinandan struck a quick 43 off 30 balls as Uttar Pradesh were eventually bowled out for 540 in 153.1 overs.Talking to TOI, Zeeshan said, “I have been working hard on my batting as well as bowling. Tomorrow, I have to bowl and I want to do well. I had scored a hundred in the practice match in Kanpur, so that gave me confidence.”“There is a bit of assistance for spinners. The pitch has slowed down, so taking wickets will not be easy. Still, it is a good opportunity for the bowlers, and our aim will be to bowl them out,” he said.UP head coach Gyanendra Pandey said, “Both our bowlers, Zeeshan and Abhinandan, performed brilliantly with the bat. Aaradhya also played excellent innings. We expect the bowlers to do the job and bowl Bihar out on Tuesday.”
