Vidarbha won their third Irani Cup title on Day 5 of the final against Rest of India at the Vidarbha Cricket Association Stadium in Nagpur. Akshay Wadkar and Co. emerged victorious by 93 runs on Sunday, October 5.
Rest of India started the day at 20/2, with Rajat Patidar and Ishan Kishan at the crease. They needed another 331 runs to win the match. Aditya Thakare dismissed Patidar in the fifth over of the day. The Rest of India skipper could only make 10 off 32 balls.
Six overs later, Darshan Nalkande
accounted for the wicket of Ruturaj Gaikwad. Kishan hit a couple of boundaries off Nalkande's following over. However, Harsh Dubey ended his stay at the crease in the next over. Kishan's defiant innings saw him scoring 35 off 65 balls. However, it wasn't enough for Rest of India.
Saransh Jain and Yash Dhull played counter-attacking knocks and scored 53 off 66 balls. After Saransh departed for 29, Manav Suthar joined Dhull at the crease. They forged a 104-run stand off just 152 balls. The Delhi batter was dismissed just eight runs short off his century. In 117 balls, he smashed 92 runs, hitting eight fours and a solitary six.
Anshul Kamboj, Akash Deep, and Gurnoor Brar were dismissed in quick succession as Suthar remained unbeaten on 56 off 113 balls. Rest of India's innings ended for 267 in 73.5 overs. It was great to see the Patidar-led side showing fight despite having their backs against the wall. However, they fell too far behind in the first innings and were always behind the eight-ball since then.
Harsh Dubey was the pick of the bowlers for Vidarbha. He picked up four wickets, giving away just 73 runs in 27.5 overs. Thakare and Yash Thakur chipped in with two wickets apiece. Meanwhile, Parth Rekhade and Nalkande took one wicket each.
Atharva Taide won the Player of the Match for scoring 143 off 183 balls, hitting 15 fours and one six. His knock laid the foundation for Vidarbha's win.
