Vidarbha Triumphs in Irani Trophy Despite Dhull and Suthar Half-Centuries

Vidarbha emerged victorious in the Irani Cup, becoming the first team since Karnataka in the 2014/15 season to win the trophy outright. They secured a 93-run victory over Rest of India on Sunday, October 5. Vidarbha, having controlled much of the match, defended their target of 361 runs on the final day with Harsh Dubey starring with figures of 4-73.

Beginning the final day at 35/2, having lost both openers the prior evening, Rest of India faced an early challenge by losing captain Rajat Patidar in the fifth over. They struggled to form a substantial partnership, quickly finding themselves at 80/5 after the dismissals of Ruturaj Gaikwad and Ishan Kishan. Though Yash Dhull and Saransh Jain built a 53-run partnership for the sixth wicket, it ended with Parth Rekhade trapping Jain LBW, leaving Rest of India at 156/6 by lunch.

Rest of India showed some resilience as Dhull and Suthar added a 104-run stand. Dhull seemed poised for a century, playing fluidly with eight fours and a six, but was dismissed by Yash Thakur for 92. Thakur also struck in the next delivery to remove Anshul Kamboj. Suthar fought on, reaching his half-century, but eventually ran out of partners as Vidarbha concluded the match before tea.

Brief Scores: Vidarbha 342 & 232 defeated Rest of India 214 & 267 (Yash Dhull 92, Manav Suthar 56*; Harsh Dubey 4-73, Aditya Thakare 2-27) by 93 runs.