In the Irani Cup 2026, which was place over four days at the Sher-i-Kashmir Stadium in Srinagar on Sunday, October 4, the rest of India defeated Jammu and Kashmir by 167 runs. Rishabh Pant led ROI throughout the contest, which started on October 1. On the last day, Pant raised the Irani Cup trophy.
ROI were led throughout by Rishabh Pant
Pant’s 29th birthday fell on October 4, thus the trophy lift was extra memorable for the wicketkeeper-batter. After the victory, he described the emotion as “very good” and expressed delight with the team’s combined effort. All the suffering and fever disappear when you triumph. (Make today’s plan) The idea was to bowl more. We wanted to make things right because we were more behind schedule.
We are aware of how good our bowlers were. “We fixed that and bowled fuller,” Rishabh said during the post-match presentation ceremony following the game. If you don’t follow the plan, you will undoubtedly be dissatisfied. However, it feels great to follow your goal,” Pant continued.
The most significant bowler in the match was Mukesh Kumar. His second-innings stats of 6/33 proved crucial in bowling out the opponents and securing ROI’s 167-run victory. He ended the game with eight wickets.
Rishabh said that the Irani Cup victory was largely due to the bowling unit. The dismissal of Jammu and Kashmir for a total that left ROI winners by 167 runs was largely due to Mukesh’s six wickets in the second innings.
Ravichandran Smaran, on the other side, was the Rest of India’s best batter in both innings. He finished as the game’s best run scorer after contributing 68 in the first innings and returning with an undefeated 135 in the second. His knock in the second innings set up a target that Jammu and Kashmir was unable to reach. Pant gave Smaran credit for his performance in both innings, saying, “It was an outstanding innings, especially with the position we were in.”
Also Read: Rest of India Beat Jammu & Kashmir by 167 Runs to Win Irani Cup
For the uninitiated, Rishabh’s sickness prevented him from playing on the third day of the crucial match, hence Rest of India had to designate a substitute captain for that day. In Pant’s absence, Sarfaraz Khan took the helm and made sure the team’s momentum was maintained.
On October 4, the last day, Pant came back to lead the team as ROI finished the victory. As captain of the victorious squad in Srinagar, Sarfaraz celebrated his 29th birthday by raising the Irani Cup. After the game, he famously lifted Pant in celebration at the stadium.
