Mumbai won the Irani Cup for the 15th time, 27 years after their last triumph, on Saturday, October 5 in Lucknow. Tanush Kotian’s sensational second-innings hundred helped Mumbai draw the five-day game against Rest of India at the Shri Atal Bihari Vajpayee Stadium. Ajinkya Rahane’s Mumbai completed the Ranji Trophy-Irani Cup double to assert their dominance as one of the powerhouses of Indian cricket.
Mumbai were adjudged the winners of the match by virtue of the first-innings lead. The Irani Cup is another feather in captain Ajinkya Rahane’s hat as the senior cricketer continues to win trophies in red-ball cricket.
One of the stars of Mumbai’s triumph was spinner Tanush Kotian, who hit his maiden first-class hundred to help Mumbai avoid a tricky situation on the final day. Despite securing a 121-run first-innings lead, Mumbai were put on the back foot when they were reeling at 171 for 8 on Friday in Lucknow.
While opener Prithvi Shaw hit a solid 76, none of the other stars in the top-order, including Rahane (9), Shreyas Iyer (8), Sarfaraz Khan (17) and Hardik Tamore (7), were able to get going. Rest of India off-spinner Saransh Jain brought his team back into the contest on Friday evening with a flurry of wickets.
However, Tanush Kotian and Mohit Avasthi came up with a resolute effort, stitching 158 runs for the ninth wicket. The two teams shook hands and confirmed the draw after Avasthi got to his fifty towards the end of the second session.
