Saurabh Kumar's 10 for 108 takes Rest of India to Irani Cup title
Saurashtra were consigned to a 175-run loss after being all out for 79 in their second innings
ESPNcricinfo staff
03-Oct-2023
File photo: Saurabh Kumar took a match haul of 10 for 108 • Bangladesh Cricket Board
Rest of India 308 and 160 (Agarwal 49, Bhut 7-53) beat Saurashtra 214 and 79 (Saurabh 6-43, Mulani 3-22) by 175 runs
Left-arm spinner Saurabh Kumar ran through Saurashtra's line-up to finish with a match haul of 10 for 108 and take Rest of India to an Irani Cup title.
Saurashtra could add only two more runs to their overnight score of 212 for 9 in the first innings on the third day, with Saurabh wrapping up the proceedings with 4 for 65. Starting 94 runs ahead, Rest of India's openers B Sai Sudharsan (43) and Mayank Agarwal (49) got off to a strong start as they put up an 85-run stand. Dharmendrasinh Jadeja made the breakthrough by having Agarwal caught behind in the 29th over.
Sudharsan then lost his wicket to Parth Bhut, who removed Sarfaraz Khan for 13 soon after. Jadeja returned to dismiss Hanuma Vihari in the next over for 22. Bhut then orchestrated a collapse, as Rest of India lost their next six wickets for 22 runs to finish with a total of 160 and set Saurashtra a target of 255.
Bhut ended with figures of 7 for 53 in the second innings, finishing with a career-best match haul of 12 for 147.
In return, Saurabh removed Saurashtra opener Chirag Jani in the second over. He then bowled Samarth Vyas for 10, following which Mulani pinned Cheteshwar Pujara in front for 7. Saurashtra then lost four wickets for 18 runs and were reeling at 51 for 8. Jadeja and Prerak Mankad then provided a brief resistance with a 28-run stand but Saurabh returned to remove the last two batters to rout Saurashtra for 79. He bagged 6 for 43 in the second innings to give Rest of India a 175-run win.
Sudharsan finished as the top run-getter of the match with 115 runs - he made 72 in the first innings - while Bhut topped the wicket-takers list.