Mumbai overcome ROI, clinch 15th Irani Cup title: Stats
Mumbai have won the Irani Trophy for the record 15th time. They beat Rest of India on the basis of the first-innings lead in the recently-concluded game at the Ekana Cricket Stadium in Lucknow. Sarfaraz Khan's double-ton propelled Mumbai to 537/10 batting first. ROI fought well and managed 416 in reply thanks to Abhimanyu Easwaran's 191. Here are the key stats.
How did the game pan out?
Besides Sarfaraz, skipper Ajinkya Rahane also batted well, contributing to Mumbai's first-innings score of 537/10. Mukesh Kumar claimed a fifer. Easwaran's 191 and Dhruv Jurel's 93 headlined ROI's first innings as they finished at 416, handing Mumbai a 121-run first-innings lead. Tanush Kotian's ton meant Mumbai were 329/8 in their second innings before the game got called off.
A 253-ball double-ton for Sarfaraz
Sarfaraz became the first batter with a double-century for Mumbai in Irani Cup history. He ended up scoring 222 off 286 balls. The youngster is overall the 11th batter with a double-ton in the Irani Cup. As per ESPNcricinfo, has now raced to 4,422 runs across 51 First-Class matches at an average of 66-plus. The tally includes 15 tons and 14 fifties.
A counter-attacking knock from Iyer
Shreyas Iyer slammed a vital fifty for Mumbai in the first innings, an 84-ball 57. Notably, Iyer's performance in the recent Duleep Trophy was less than impressive, as he scored only 154 runs at 25.66 across six innings. This also included two ducks and as many half-centuries. The batter has now completed 5,880 FC runs at 47-plus (100s: 13, 50s: 33).
Rahane misses his 41st First-Class century
Mumbai skipper Ajinkya Rahane missed out on his 41st century in First-Class cricket. The Indian batter was dismissed for a resilient 97 off 234 balls in the first innings. This was Rahane's 58th fifty in First-Class cricket. He has 13,533 runs from 192 FC matches at an average of more than 45. His tally also includes 40 centuries.
Mukesh Kumar recorded his eighth FC fifer
Pacer Mukesh Kumar clocked his maiden five-wicket haul in the Irani Cup and his eighth overall in First-Class cricket. The ROI pacer returned with 5/110 across 30 overs in Mumbai's first innings. The medium-pacer has now raced to 186 wickets from 47 First-Class games at an average of under 22. His tally also includes a match haul of 10 wickets.
Abhimanyu Easwaran misses out on a double-century
Easwaran made 191 off 292 balls for the Rest of India. This was Easwaran's 26th century in First-Class cricket. He has now raced to 7,506 runs from 98 FC matches at an average of more than 48. His tally also includes 29 fifties. Easwaran, who plays for Bengal, is a top-order batter. He is yet to break into the Indian national side.
Dhruv Jurel completes 1,000 First-Class runs
Dhruv Jurel made a fiery 93 off just 121 balls for ROI. He entered this match with 982 runs across 19 FC games, averaging 44.63. The dasher has now completed 1,075 runs. This was his seventh fifty as the tally also includes a solitary ton. Meanwhile, he has scored 190 Test runs for India at 63.33.
Shaw closing in on 4,500 FC runs
Prithvi Shaw was dismissed for 76 off 105 balls in Mumbai's second innings. With this knock, he has raced to 4,497 runs in FC cricket across 56 matches, averaging 46-plus. While the 24-year-old hammered his 18th FC fifty, the tally also includes 13 tons. Notably, Shaw didn't find a place in any of the Duleep Trophy squads.
Tanush Kotian smokes century for Mumbai
After scoring 64 off 124 balls in the first innings, Kotian smoked a fine century in his second outing with the bat. He returned unbeaten on 114 off 150 balls in the third innings. This was his second First-Class hundred as he has now raced to 1,451 runs across 30 FC matches at an average of 41-plus. The tally also includes 13 fifties.
Do you know?
Kotian achieved both these 50-plus scores while batting at number eight. This feat has earned him a place in cricket history as the first player to score two 50-plus scores from this position or lower in an Irani Cup match.
A fine spell from Saransh
ROI's Saransh Jain finished with 6/121 in the third innings. The 31-year-old cricketer from Madhya Pradesh has now raced to 110 wickets from 35 First-Cclass matches. He touched the 100-wicket mark in the recent Duleep Trophy. Saransh claimed a solitary wicket in his first outing with the ball. Meanwhile, the star spinner now has five FC fifers under his belt. He averages 26-plus.
