Three participants – Akhil, Bimal and Chatur participate in a random draw competition for five days. Every day, each participant randomly picks up a ball numbered between 1 and 9. The number on the ball determines his score on that day. The total score of a participant is the sum of his scores attained in the five days. The total score of a day is the sum of participants’ scores on that day. The 2-day average on a day, except on Day 1, is the average of the total scores of that day and of the previous day. For example, if the total scores of Day 1 and Day 2 are 25 and 20, then the 2-day average on Day 2 is calculated as 22.5. Table 1 gives the 2-day averages for Days 2 through 5.
Table 1: 2-day averages for Days through 5
Day 2
Day 3
Day 4
Day 5
15
15.5
16
17
Participants are ranked each day, with the person having the maximum score being awarded the minimum rank (1) on that day. If there is a tie, all participants with the tied score are awarded the best available rank. For example, if on a day Akhil, Bimal, and Chatur score 8, 7 and 7 respectively, then their ranks will be 1, 2 and 2 respectively on that day. These ranks are given in Table 2.
Table 2 : Ranks of participants on each day
Day 1
Day 2
Day 3
Day 4
Day 5
Akhil
1
2
2
3
3
Bimal
2
3
2
1
1
Chatur
3
1
1
2
2
The following information is also known. 1. Chatur always scores in multiples of 3. His score on Day 2 is the unique highest score in the competition. His minimum score is observed only on Day 1, and it matches Akhil’s score on Day 4. 2. The total score on Day 3 is the same as the total score on Day 4. 3. Bimal’s scores are the same on Day 1 and Day 3. What is the minimum possible total score of Bimal? (This Question was asked as TITA)