Irani Cup 2023: Rest of India beat MP to retain Irani Cup ; Stats, Top Performers, Player of the Match

Chasing
a
near-impossible
437
for
victory,
MP
were
bowled
out
for
198
in
58.4
overs
as
the
match
ended
during
the
opening
session
of
the
fifth
day.
With
the
so-called
result-oriented
and
under-prepared
pitches
for
the
ongoing
Border-Gavaskar
Trophy
receiving
a
lot
of
flak,
the
Gwalior
track
was
a
throwback
to
the
days
when
there
used
to
be
help
for
every
department
of
the
game.

There
were
four
tons
scored
in
the
match,
40
wickets
fell
and
pacers
and
spinners
had
equal
say
during
the
course
of
the
game.
A
case
in
point
is
the
MP
second
innings
where
the
pacers
and
spinners
shared
five
wickets
apiece.
Seamers
Mukesh
Kumar
(2/34),
Atit
Sheth
(2/37)
and
Navdeep
Saini
(1/34)
blew
away
the
MP
top-order
while
off-spinner
Pulkit
Narang
(2/27)
and
left-arm
spinner
Saurabh
Kumar
(3/60)
took
advantage
of
the
deteriorating
surface
to
mop
up
the
lower
middle-order
and
tail.
In
the
morning,
MP
skipper
Himanshu
Mantri
(51)
got
a
raw
deal
from
umpire
Rohan
Pandit,
who
raised
his
finger
when
the
batter
hadn’t
actually
nicked
one
behind
the
stumps.

MP
lost
wickets
at
regular
intervals
as
first-innings
centurion
Yash
Dubey
got
a
lethal
in-cutter
from
Mukesh
Kumar
and
was
cleaned
up
in
the
process.
There
was
no
let-up
in
intensity
from
the
Rest
of
India’s
bowlers
and
MP
didn’t
even
have
the
remotest
chance
to
make
a
match
of
it.

Irani
Cup
2023
Player
of
the
Match:

Yashasvi
Jaiswal
with
357
runs
across
two
innings
(213
and
144)
was
the
showstopper
and
was
awarded
as
the
player
of
the
match.

“If
I
would
have
remained
not
out
(on
Day
1)
I
would
have
gotten
a
300
and
that
would
have
been
better,”
Jaiswal
said
after
the
match.
He
praised
opener
Abhimanyu
Easwaran
(154),
with
whom
he
shared
a
triple
hundred-plus
stand.

“I
had
an
experienced
partner
in
Easwaran
and
it
was
amazing
to
bat
alongside
him,”
the
southpaw
said
at
the
post-match
presentation
ceremony.

Irani
Cup
2023
Stats
and
Top
Performers:

Here
are
the
top
performers
of
the
Irani
Cup
this
year.

Top
Run-Scorers
of
Irani
Cup
2023:

1.
Yashasvi
Jaiswal
(ROI)
–
357
runs

2.
Abhimanyu
Easwaran
(ROI)
–
182
runs

3.
Yash
Dubey
(MP)
–
117
runs

Top
Wicket
takers
of
Irani
Cup
2023:

1.
Pukit
Narang
(ROI)
–
6
wickets

2.
Avesh
Khan
(MP)
–
6
wickets

3.
Mukesh
Kumar
(ROI)
–
4
wickets

Highest
Individuals
Runs
of
Irani
Cup
2023:

1.
Yashasvi
Jaiswal
(ROI)
–
213
runs
off
259
balls

2.
Abhimanyu
Easwaran
(ROI)
–
154
runs
off
240
balls

3.
Yashasvi
Jaiswal
(ROI)
–
144
runs
off
157
balls

Best
Bowling
Figures
of
Irani
Cup
2023:

1.
Pulkit
Narang
(ROI)
–
4/65

2.
Avesh
Khan
–
4/74

3.
Navdeep
Saini
–
3/56