Rest of India sink Ranji champions Saurashtra to lift Irani Cup

The Rest of India were sensational on Day 2 of the finals of the Irani Cup but on Day 3, they absolutely hammered Saurashtra’s batting unit and won the tournament by 175 runs. Notably, Day 3 started with Saurabh Kumar picking up the wicket of Jaydev Unadkat as the home team got bundled out for 214 runs.

In the second innings, Sai Sudharsan and Mayank Agarwal gave an excellent start to the Rest of India as their partnership of 85 runs set the tone of the match. However, Parth Bhut wreaked havoc in the middle as the Hanuma Vihari-led side lost wickets in quick succession. The 26-year-old picked up seven wickets and bundled out the visiting team for 160 runs. With that, the Jaydev Unadkat-led side was asked to chase down 254 runs. However, in the spin-friendly track of Rajkot, it wasn’t an easy task.

Uttar Pradesh-born cricketer Saurabh Kumar made it extremely difficult for the Ranji champions. The 30-year-old picked up six wickets and absolutely manhandled Saurastra’s top order and it eventually helped them win the game pretty comfortably. Shams Mulani later chipped in as well and picked up three wickets which eventually pushed Saurashtra out of the race.

Saurabh Kumar ended up picking six wickets as the Rest of India won the match by 175 runs to lift the Irani Cup. The cricketer was eventually named Player of the Match for his incredible performance. He ended up picking up a total of ten wickets and scored some crucial runs in the first innings as well. Ahead of the domestic season, this should boost his confidence as the cricketer aims to continue in the same fashion.

“It was important to get runs during that time. We get an idea on what length to bowl on this pitch and that helped. Those were good catches from Sarfaraz and that helped the bowlers. Has been a good start and would like to continue the same way,” Saurabh said after the match.