Bihar were 203 for 2, and Bhargav Bhatt’s six-for in his 100th game left Baroda needing two to win
Bhargav Bhatt took 6 for 53 in his 100th first-class match as Baroda beat Bihar by 10 wickets in Vadodara and went top of Ranji Trophy Elite Group A.
Oct 21, 2026
For a long spell on the third day in Vadodara, Bihar looked like they would at least make Baroda bat again properly. Mangal Mahrour was past his hundred, Ayush Loharuka had dug in at the other end, and a first-innings deficit of 250 was down to 47 with eight wickets standing.
Then Bhargav Bhatt, playing his 100th first-class match, took the game away from them. Bihar lost their last eight wickets for 48 runs, were all out for 251, and left Baroda a target of two. Shivalik Sharma hit his first ball for four.
Eight wickets for 48
Bhatt had already removed Piyush Singh with the score on 62, caught by Deepak Hooda. The collapse began when Loharuka, on 49 after 112 balls, was caught by Sharma off him at 203 for 3. Bihar captain Sakibul Gani made 2 and Bipin Saurabh 5, both caught off Bhatt, and when Mahesh Pithiya had Mahrour caught by Rasikh Salam for 138 at 226 for 6, nobody else stayed long.
Bhatt took Aditya Raj and Amod Yadav with consecutive balls at 234, and Pithiya ended it by having Shabbir Khan caught by Hooda. Bhatt finished with 6 for 53 from 29 overs, six of them maidens, and eight wickets in the match. Pithiya took 3 for 40. Mahrour’s 138 came off 200 balls with 17 fours and three sixes, and without it Baroda would have won by an innings.
How Baroda built the lead
Bihar won the toss, chose to bat and were bowled out for 166 in 53 overs on the first day. Raj Limbani took 4 for 32, and Saurabh’s 58 was the only score above 26.
Baroda lost Dhruv Patel and Sharma with 8 on the board, but Priyanshu Moliya batted 233 balls for 132. He added 158 for the fourth wicket with Pithiya, who made 61, and Hooda then hit 70 off 85 balls. Baroda were all out for 416 on the second day. Amod Yadav took 5 for 139 for Bihar.
Still waiting for an India cap
Before the match, the Baroda Cricket Association marked Bhatt’s 100th game with a ceremony in which former India wicketkeeper Kiran More presented him with a special cap. The left-arm spinner is 36 and has 390 first-class wickets from a domestic career that has run for 17 years, with Baroda and, for a spell, Andhra.
He played for India A in 2013 and took seven wickets in an innings against West Indies A, but the Test call never came. He told Cricinfo after the win that he had planned the match in advance: five wickets, the player-of-the-match award and a Baroda win. “I’m 36 but I still believe I can make it to the Indian team,” he said. He reckons he bowls 30 overs in every Ranji innings. Against Bihar it was 29.
This season has given him a case. Bhatt took nine wickets in the opening round as Baroda beat Goa by an innings and 135 runs, and now eight more against Bihar.
Top of Group A
The win was Baroda’s second with a bonus point in two games, and it puts them top of Elite Group A on 14 points, one ahead of Uttar Pradesh. Bihar have lost both of their matches, after Uttar Pradesh beat them by an innings and 267 runs in the first round. Baroda play Jammu and Kashmir next.