|
India pacers Mukesh Kumar and Akash Deep combined to claim nine wickets as Rest of India defeated reigning Ranji Trophy champions Jammu and Kashmir by 167 runs on the fourth day to win the 2026-27 Irani Cup in Srinagar on Sunday.
Mukesh returned impressive figures of 6/33 to register his 11th five-wicket haul in first-class cricket and spearhead a decisive collapse in the Jammu and Kashmir second innings. Akash, making his comeback, chipped in with 3/25 as J&K, chasing 279 for victory, were bowled out for 111. The victory was set up by Ravichandran Smaran, who produced a superb match-winning performance with scores of 68 and 135. Smaran rescued Rest of India from difficult situations in both innings as they overcame a 41-run first-innings deficit to secure the title. Jammu and Kashmir had held the advantage after taking a first-innings lead and needed only a draw to claim the Irani Cup. They appeared to make a confident start to their chase, with openers Shubham Khajuria and Qamran Iqbal adding 54 runs for the opening wicket. Akash broke the partnership by trapping Iqbal LBW, before Mukesh struck twice in the 15th over just before lunch, removing Shubham Pundir and captain Paras Dogra off successive deliveries. Dogra was bowled after the ball moved away just enough to beat his defence and crash into the middle stump. J&K went into lunch at 89/3 after 19 overs, with Khajuria unbeaten on 36 and Abdul Samad on six. Khajuria, however, was dismissed by Akash with the first delivery after the interval, setting off a dramatic collapse. J&K lost their next six wickets for just 22 runs across nine overs as Rest of India took complete control. Mukesh eventually finished with 6/33, while Akash claimed 3/25. Akash's match workload will also please the Indian team management, with the pacer returning to competitive action and completing 23.3 overs across the game while claiming six wickets. His successful comeback comes at an important juncture as India prepare for their upcoming tour of New Zealand, with Akash appearing to have recovered sufficiently to come into contention for selection. Earlier, Rest of India resumed their second innings at 306/8 and were bowled out for 319. Umar Nazir, Sunil Kumar and Sahil Lotra picked up three wickets apiece for Jammu and Kashmir. Despite conceding a first-innings lead, Rest of India produced a disciplined all-round performance to overturn the deficit and lift the Irani Cup. (ANI)
|
