Bihar’s U-19 left-arm spin bowler Suman Kumar had a day out in the Cooch Behar Trophy, shining as he took all 10 wickets in an innings against Rajasthan, in an effort which saw him bowl extended spells and even record a hat-trick in the process.
Suman Kumar hails from Samastipur district, the same area of the state as rising star Vaibhav Suryavanshi, who earned a bumper IPL contract and is currently participating in the U-19 Asia Cup in the UAE. Suman's terrific bowling effort helped skittle Rajasthan cheaply in the first innings at the Moin Ul Haq Stadium in Patna, and earned the youngster headlines of his own.
Suman provided a crucial first breakthrough after a half-century opening partnership, before the floodgates opened for the bowler and Bihar. The scorecard went from 82-1 to 82-5, including a hat-trick for the last three of those four wickets, as a flurry of scalps for the left-arm spinner saw him run through the Rajasthan middle order in dramatic fashion.
Astonishingly, a full 20 of Suman's 33.5 overs were also maidens, showing how difficult it was for the batters to try and counter-attack his bowling in an effort to knock him out of the attack.
Second 10-fer innings of the domestic season
{{/usCountry}}Astonishingly, a full 20 of Suman's 33.5 overs were also maidens, showing how difficult it was for the batters to try and counter-attack his bowling in an effort to knock him out of the attack.
Second 10-fer innings of the domestic season
{{/usCountry}}Suman joins Anshul Kamboj, the Haryana pacer who earlier this season became only the third bowler to take ten wickets in an innings in the Ranji Trophy with a stellar effort of his own. While Suman’s record comes at the youth level, it will put selectors for the senior side on high alert, with the spinner showing plenty of guile, control, and threat during a lengthy 34-over spell.
Suman’s obliteration of the Rajasthan middle order meant they were constricted to 182 all-out, succumbing to a heavy first innings deficit after Bihar’s batters had already heaped on 467 in the first innings thanks to a pair of centuries from Dipesh Gupta and Prithvi Raj.
However, Rajasthan bounced back well to put up 410/5 before end of play in their third innings, thanks to a century from captain Toshit and a double century from the bat of opener Parth Yadav. Suman bowled an even more extended spell in this innings, delivering a whopping 49 overs on this occasion. Although he kept it quiet, with an economy of 1.80, he didn’t find the same success as the innings prior and only took one wicket.