The Moin-Ul-Haq Stadium is currently a Ranji Trophy game between Bihar and Mumbai.
Patna: Former India pacer Venkatesh Prasad slammed Bihar Cricket Association for poor maintenance of the Moin-Ul-Haq Stadium in Patna after visuals of broken concrete emerged on social media. In a video, that went viral, the stadium’s poor condition during the Bihar vs Mumbai match was clearly visible as Ranji Trophy returned to the state after a gap of huge 27 years. Thousands of fans thronged the Moin-Ul-Haq Stadium to get a glimpse of their favourite stars especially the likes of Ajinkya Rahane, Shivam Dube and Sarfaraz Khan.
This is unacceptable. Ranji Trophy is the premiere domestic competition in India and it’s time all stakeholders realise it’s value. Don’t see any valid reason for the state association not rectifying this . https://t.co/BTHs6auAah
— Venkatesh Prasad (@venkateshprasad) January 5, 2024
“This is unacceptable. Ranji Trophy is the premiere domestic competition in India and it’s time all stakeholders realise it’s value. Don’t see any valid reason for the state association not rectifying this,” Prasad said while reaction to a viral video on ‘X’ (formerly Twitter).
Condition of a cricket stadium in Bihar hosting a Ranji Trophy match.
The pathetic state of both Bihar and our top cricketing competition. pic.twitter.com/mnw4rS5F96
— Keh Ke Peheno (@coolfunnytshirt) January 6, 2024
However, the start of the match on Friday was delayed as two teams claiming to be Ranji Trophy squad of Bihar turned up on the ground. While one was picked by BCA president Rakesh Tiwary, the other was selected by secretary Amit Kumar.
It was Tiwary’s side that turned up for the match first and eventually played against Mumbai. There was also a scuffle between the officials of BCA that led to a delayed start. The match started at 1 PM IST reportedly, instead of usual 9:30 AM IST start.
Only 67 overs were possible on the Day 1 as Mumbai reached 235/9 at stumps, thanks to half centuries from Bhupen Lalwani, Suved Parkar and Tanush Kotian, all scored fifties. Chennai Super Kings star Shivam Dube also scored 41 for Mumbai. For Bihar, Veer Pratap Singh picked up four wickets.
Interestingly, veteran India batter Ajinkya Rahane was benched in the match.