The Ranji Trophy encounter between Bihar and Mumbai faced a delay on Day 1 as two separate Bihar teams arrived at the stadium to compete against Ajinkya Rahane’s Mumbai team. The Moin-ul-Haque Stadium in Patna witnessed unexpected delays and disputes due to internal conflicts within the Bihar Cricket Association (BCA). The association was split between two factions, with one team selected by BCA President Rakesh Tiwary and the other chosen by Association Secretary Amit Kumar. The dispute led to a delayed start of the match at 11 am IST, with Tiwary’s team eventually taking the field against Mumbai.
Tiwary claimed that Kumar, who is currently under suspension, made his selected team ineligible to participate. He pointed fingers at Aditya Verma for causing chaos at the stadium, accusing him of trying to ruin Bihar’s image. In contrast, Kumar contested Tiwary’s claims, stating that he won the election and is the official secretary of the BCA.
Despite the chaos, Mumbai batted first and concluded the first day at 235/9. Bhupen Lalwani, Suved Parkar, and Tanush Kotian each contributed a half-century, while Bihar’s Veer Pratap Singh took 4/32. Ajinkya Rahane did not feature in the match despite being the focal point.