At the end of the second day of the Irani Cup, the Rest of India (ROI) team had a stern test in front of them, trailing by 17 runs in their second innings. Earlier the Jammu and Kashmir (J&K) tail had wagged emphatically, with Lone Nasir Muzaffar’s whirlwind 64 helping the hosts carve out a healthy 41-run first-innings lead, a significant margin on a tough deck to bat on.
This was the beginning of ROI’s comeback in the game.
ROI’s build-up in the second innings was steady, with Sudip Kumar Gharami (33) and Sanat Sangwan (55) putting on 128. But Umar Nazir Mir and Sahil Lotra dented their middle order and reduced them to 197 for eight, with Ravichandran Smaran remaining as the only specialist batter.
The Karnataka southpaw had endured a relatively lean period in First-Class cricket after his twin hundreds against Uttarakhand in the 2025-26 Ranji Trophy semi-final. A first-ball duck against J&K in the Ranji Trophy final, followed by an underwhelming Duleep Trophy by his own standards, had made him eager for a comeback. Smaran had batted with the tail in the first innings, but poor shot selection denied him a bigger score after making 68. He, however, did not make the same mistake in the second innings.
Smaran, batting at No.6, knew his challenge would come against a difficult match-up in Sahil Lotra. The off-spinner had already picked up two left-handers in Manav Suthar and Rishabh Pant and could have proved ominous. Smaran, however, took him on from the outset, scoring 37 against Lotra. He attacked spin with authority and showed composure against the pacers, eventually scoring 135 off 153 balls, with 16 fours and five sixes, to put ROI in a commanding position and set Jammu and Kashmir a target of 279.
J&K needed a counter-attacking start against the ROI pacers to stay ahead in the run chase. Qamran Iqbal and Shubham Khajuria gave them exactly that, adding 54 for the opening wicket. However, Akash Deep trapped Iqbal to open the floodgates, and Rest of India never looked back after that.
Akash’s fellow Bengal seamer Mukesh Kumar then ripped through the hosts’ top order. Shubham Pundir was trapped lbw after Mukesh brought one back into the left-hander’s pads. J&K skipper Paras Dogra’s wicket was perhaps the best delivery of the game. The veteran played inside the line to a delivery that moved away late and was beaten, with the ball crashing into middle stump.
J&K were eventually bundled out for a paltry 111, losing the game by 167 runs. Their start to the season at home could have been better, but a dramatic batting collapse ultimately cost them the trophy. Ahead of their first Ranji Trophy game of the season against Madhya Pradesh, they will have to keep believing in themselves, and only then can they thrive.
Dogra, who is about to start his 26th domestic season, remains the brightest silver lining for them after his fine 75 in the first innings. They had a depleted pace attack, with Auqib Nabi away on national duty and Yudhvir Singh Charak sidelined by injury, but the pace trio of Sunil Kumar, Nazir and Nasir fought reasonably well. With their batting core settled from last season, having this kind of bowling bench strength will give them plenty of positives.
Mukesh Kumar had a rusty Ranji Trophy semi-final earlier this year against J&K. He was torn apart by Abdul Samad in the second innings and was not at his best in the first innings either. But he has changed his approach and worked on his bowling to rediscover his potency since the Duleep Trophy. Akash Deep, the capped Indian pacer, has also done well after returning from a long injury lay-off.
Maharashtra seamer Mukesh Choudhary, also had an impressive first innings. As a left-arm pacer, he is extremely agile in using his angles and accounted for Shubqham Pundir, Shubham Khajuria, Qamran, Kanhaiya Wadhawan and Dogra. His five-wicket haul against the defending Ranji Trophy champions was a significant boost ahead of the long domestic season. He will look to carry this momentum into Maharashtra’s season opener against Services.
ROI completed their 31st Irani Cup title, including one shared title, in the 2026-27 edition. A quality individual performance from Smaran and the exploits of both Mukesh were integral to their win. Sangwan, Mohan, Akash Deep and others also contributed to the success.
The strong starts to the season will be a boost for the players and their respective states. For ROI, however, the Irani Cup triumph was built on the resilience of Smaran’s bat and the relentless accuracy of the Bengal pace duo. For J&K, the second-innings collapse will be a bitter pill to swallow, but the belief and resilience that propelled them to their maiden Ranji Trophy title will now face another test as they embark on the long domestic season.
