Irani Cup: Rest of India beats Madhya Pradesh to win title

Rest of India extended their dominance in the Irani Cup with a 238-run drubbing of Madhya Pradesh on the final day of the season-ending match here on Sunday.

Set an imposing target of 437, the hosts — last seasons Ranji Trophy champions — were all out for 198 in their second innings on the fifth and final day at the Captain Roop Singh Stadium. At stumps on the penultimate day, MP were 81 for 2, needing 356 on the last day to win their maiden Irani title.

This was after Yashasvi Jaiswal mauled a hapless Madhya Pradesh attack into submission with another near-flawless hundred, putting Rest of India in the drivers seat to retain the Irani Cup trophy. Jaiswal, who struck a sublime 213 in the first innings, scored a magnificent 144 out of his teams second innings total of 246, helping the side set a stiff target for the hosts.

With the kind of bowling at RoIs disposal, it was always going to be a difficult task for MP, and days proceedings lived up to the script. Himanshu Mantri was out on his overnight score of 51. Saurabh Kumar picked up three wickets while there were two apiece for Mukesh Kumar, Atit Sheth and Pulkit Narang.

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