Irani Cup 2024 Match Highlights: Sarfaraz Khan's Ton Outweighs Easwaran's 191; Mumbai Claim Title
Mumbai won the Irani Cup courtesy of first innings lead [Source: @BCCIdomestic/x]
Mumbai lifted the Irani Cup for the first time in 27 years after Ajinkya Rahane's troops defeated the Rest of India in the 2024 edition at Lucknow's Ekana Stadium. After five gripping days of action between October 1 and October 5, the match came to a conclusion after the 2023-24 Ranji Trophy winners had mounted a lead of 450 runs.
Here’s the timeline of how MUM vs ROI panned out in Lucknow:
Mumbai vs Rest of India Highlights: Sarfaraz’s 222* Influenced Mumbai To 537
Batting first, Mumbai lost each of their top three batters, including Prithvi Shaw, to Mukesh Kumar to slip to 37-3 within the opening hour of play. Thereafter, senior men Shreyas Iyer (57 off 84) and captain Ajinkya Rahane (97 off 234) logged fighting half-centuries until both were dismissed by Yash Dayal.
Sarfaraz Khan at number five carried on the good work by forming a huge 183-run partnership with half-centurion Tanush Kotian (64) to take Mumbai past the 450-run mark on Day 2. Sarfaraz himself unleashed 222 unbeaten runs from just 286 balls with 25 boundaries and four sixes to top-score in the innings. The 2023-24 Ranji Trophy winners eventually had their innings wrapped at 537 on the third morning after having faced 141 overs.
For Rest of India, Prasidh Krishna (2-102) and Yash Dayal (2-89) chipped in with two wickets each while Indian Test star Mukesh Kumar claimed industrious figures of 5-110 after toiling away for 30 overs.
Mumbai vs Rest of India Highlights: Easwaran Matches Sarfaraz With Rebellious Ton
Up against Mumbai’s 537, opening batter Abhimanyu Easwaran shared 87 runs with number three Sai Sudharsan (32 off 79) and another 70 runs with Ishan Kishan (38 off 60) after the early loss of Ruturaj Gaikwad to Mohammad Juned Khan.
While Mohit Avasthi (2-97) kept chipping away with the wickets of Padikkal and Ishan, Easwaran remained defiant in his approach and shared a fresh 165-run stand with wicketkeeper-batter Dhruv Jurel. The opening batter himself cracked his 26th first-class century, and was approaching a well-deserved double ton before he was done in by Shams Mulani at 191. The Mumbai spinner also prevented Dhruv Jurel (93) from reaching his triple-figures as a two-wicket burst ensured Rest of India slipped to 396-6.
With Mumbai bowlers sniffing blood, the collective brilliance of Shams Mulani (3-122) and Tanush Kotian (3-101) skittled out the final six Rest of India batters for just 23 runs to envelop them for 416, thus gaining a 121-run first-innings lead for the Ranji Trophy holders.
Mumbai vs Rest of India Highlights: Kotian’s Ton, Saransh’s Six-Fer Help Out Draw On Day 5
Mumbai opener Prithvi Shaw made a swift 76 from 105 balls, all while losing his top-order partners to Saransh Jain and Manav Suthar. Despite Shaw’s rapid action, Mumbai crashed to 125-5, and eventually to 171-8, before number eight Tanush Kotian cracked a scintillating 114* from just 150 balls to take his team past the 300-run mark.
Kotian shared an unbroken 158-run partnership for the ninth wicket with half-centurion tailender Mohit Avasthi (51* off 93). For Rest of India, Saransh Jain unfurled the innings of the match with figures of 6-121 while Manav Suthar accounted for the remaining two Mumbai casualties.
Soon after Ajinkya Rahane declared the Mumbai innings at 329-8d from 78 overs, the match officials called for a draw, thus allowing this year's Ranji Trophy winners to lift the 2024 Irani Cup title on the basis of their first innings lead.