Irani Cup 2022: Rest of India hammer Saurashtra by 8 wickets 

Rest of India (ROI) defeated Saurashtra by eight wickets to lift the Irani Cup 2022 at the Saurashtra Cricket Association Stadium in Rajkot on Tuesday, October 4. Resuming their second innings on 368 for eight, Saurashtra were bowled out for 380. Rest of India achieved the target of 105 in 31.2 overs for the loss of only two wickets.

Having fought back well on Day 3, Saurashtra would have been hopeful of extending their resistance on Tuesday. However, they could only add 12 runs for the loss of their last two wickets.

Parth Bhut was trapped lbw by Kuldeep Sen for seven. The Rest of India pacer also had Saurashtra skipper Jaydev Unadkat caught behind for a defiant 89 off 133 balls to complete a memorable five-wicket haul. Sen ended the innings with figures of five for 94.

Unadkat kept the fight alive with the ball, having Rest of India opener Priyank Panchal caught behind for two, before trapping Yash Dhull lbw for eight. However, Abhimanyu Easwaran guided the chase with a fluent half-century.

Easwaran remained unbeaten on 63 off 78, hitting nine fours. The opener and Srikar Bharat (27*) added an unbroken 81 for the third wicket as the Rest of India lifted the Irani Cup 2022.

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Rest of India pacer Mukesh Kumar named Player of the Match in Irani Cup 2022

Rest of India pacer Mukesh Kumar walked away with the Player of the Match in the Irani Cup 2022 for his figures of four for 23 in 10 overs in the first innings.

Kumar dismissed Harvik Desai (0), Snell Patel (four), Chirag Jani (0) and Sheldon Jackson (two) as Saurashtra crumbled to 98 all out in 24.5 overs in their first innings. Sen and Umran Malik also claimed three wickets each as ROI dominated proceedings after sending Saurashtra into bat.

Rest of India responded with 374 as Sarfaraz Khan top-scored with 138 while skipper Hanuma Vihari scored 82. Saurabh Kumar also chipped in with a handy 55 off 78 balls.

Saurashtra fought hard in the second innings courtesy Unadkat (89), Jackson (71), Prerak Mankad (72) and Arpit Vasavada (55). In the end, though, they had to pay a heavy price for their first-innings batting collapse.