Irani Cup 2025, Day 5 round-up: Ranji Trophy record-holder spins team to victory despite former India U19 captain’s heroics

At Nagpur, Vidarbha bowled out the Rest of India to win by 93 runs and clinch the Irani Cup. In the process, they became the first Ranji Trophy champion side since Karnataka in 2014/15 to win the Irani Cup outright. Vidarbha’s previous two wins, in 2017/18 and 2018/19, were based on first-innings leads in drawn games.

Vidarbha’s three wins are now the third-most for any state team, after Mumbai (15) and Karnataka (6). Vidarbha went past Delhi and Railways (2 each). RoI have won the Irani Cup 30 times in 62 attempts.

Irani Cup 2025: Yash Dhull’s heroics go in vain as Harsh Dubey clinches win

Chasing 361 for a win, RoI began the fifth day on 30-2. They lost captain Rajat Patidar early when he hit one back to Aditya Thakare. Ruturaj Gaikwad, next man in, was soon caught-behind off Darshan Nalkande.

Having watched both wickets fall at the other end, Ishan Kishan stayed put for over an hour. Then he tried to clear the mid-wicket fence off Harsh Dubey – who had set a new record for most wickets in a Ranji Trophy season, in 2024/25 – but failed. At this point, RoI were 80-5. That became 133-6 when Saransh Jain, having picked up five fours in his 29, was trapped leg-before by Harsh Rekhade.

Yash Dhull then took the attack to the Vidarbha camp, picking up singles to rotate the strike while finding the occasional boundary. He found support in Manav Suthar, who got his sixth half-century. The pair put on 104 to bring the target down to 124.

Then Yash Thakur bowled a short-pitched ball. Going for the uppercut, Dhull (92 in 117 balls, eight fours, one six) could only pick out Atharva Taide at deep third. Thakur’s next ball pitched on a length and sped through Anshul Kamboj’s defence.

Akash Deep avoided the hat-trick. He had played some excellent shots when he made a Test fifty as night-watch at The Oval, but this was not his day. He went for an extravagant cover-drive against Dubey but missed the line completely and was bowled. 

Dubey (4-73) fittingly had the last wicket when Gurnoor Brar went for an ambitious slog, but the skier went only as far as first slip. Suthar remained unbeaten on 56.

Irani Cup: List of winners

The Irani Cup was not held in 1960/61, 1961/62, 1964/65, and from 2019/20 to 2021/22.