Rest of India clinch the Irani Cup Trophy 2022
Rest of India managed to end Jaydev Unadkat’s resistance on the fourth day morning as Kuldeep Sen’s fiery spell changed the game in his team’s favour in the Irani Trophy 2022. The target was never going to be enough for the Saurashtra bowlers to impose a challenge to the Rest of India batting lineup as the Hanuma Vihari-led side cruised to a comfortable victory.
Saurashtra resumed day four at 368 for 8 with skipper Jaydev Unadkat batting on 78 while Parth Bhat was on 6. Kuldeep Sen started proceedings for the day and he managed to trap Bhat LBW in front of the wickets after adding just seven runs. Unadkat after getting close to the three-figure mark fell short of a well-deserved century with 89 off 133 deliveries and Sen finished with a fifer to his name in the innings.
Abhimanyu Easwaran scores an unbeaten half-century
Rest of India were set a target of 105 to win the game and they had ample time to complete the task. Jaydev Unadkat as usual, took the new ball for Saurashtra while openers Priyank Panchal and Abhimanyu Easwaran came out to the middle. In the fifth over of the innings, Unadkat managed to pick up the wicket of Panchal while Yash Dhull followed him soon after hitting two boundaries.
At 24 for 2, Saurashtra tried to make the extraordinary happen while Easwaran and Srikar Bharat played two different kinds of innings. Easwaran went for the boundaries and broke the rhythm of Saurashtra bowler before going for lunch while Bharat was happy to grind out the good deliveries. After a threatening early spell from Saurashtra, the Rest of India batters found it easy to score as time progressed and Easwaran reached a formidable half-century in the process.
In the end, Easwaran’s unbeaten 63 that comprised of nine boundaries alongside Bharat’s 27* took the side home and Rest of India clinched another title to their bag. Mukesh Kumar was adjudged the player of the match for his stunning spell of bowling in the first innings and he finished with five wickets in the overall match.
