Visitors pull off mammoth come-from-behind victory after chasing down 480 to stun Mumbai
In an outstanding run-chase – the third highest in the history of Indian first-class cricket and the best ever in Irani Cup – Rest of India denied Mumbai a double at the Brabourne Stadium here on Thursday.
Faced with an imposing target of 480 on a fine batting surface, Rest of India never looked in trouble when they resumed the fifth day at 100/1, needing 380 to win in a minimum of 96 overs at an asking rate of 3.95 an over. That they won by four wickets with a little more than three overs to spare showed how good the pitch was for batting even in the last session of the game.
A smart 127 by left-handed Vidarbha opener Faiz Fazal, a man-of-the-match performance of 92 by Karnataka's Karun Nair, some power-hitting by Stuart Binny (54, 51 balls, 3x4, 2x6) and an attacking unbeaten 59 (76 balls, 4x4, 1x6) by Sheldon Jackson ensured that Rest of India lifted the Irani Cup for the 27th time in 54 editions (including one shared with Bombay in 1965-66).
It was an inspiring comeback by Rest after facing a 297-run first-innings deficit. Chasing such a mammoth target needed precise execution of plans and the ability to take it session by session. That it was not difficult to maintain a run rate of four an over gave the Rest batsmen the confidence that they can achieve the target.
The two left-handed overnight batsmen Fazal and Sudip Chatterjee (54, 109b, 5x4) saw off the first one-and-a-half hours without any damage even as Mumbai operated their slow bowlers for a major part, especially left-arm spinner Iqbal Abdulla.
Mumbai's ploy was to hit the rough patches in order to extract turn. In doing so, and as runs were coming at the desired rate, Mumbai adopted a negative line, sending deliveries way down the leg side. The ploy worked to an extent when the well-set Nair fell to a sweep that popped up to short fine leg for his second consecutive score in the 90s in this match, following his 94 in the first.
The visiting batsmen strung together big partnerships that further frustrated Mumbai captain Aditya Tare. Rest lost only one wicket in each of the first two sessions, posting a century stand each for the second (110) and third wickets (130), giving themselves the advantage in the final session when 159 were needed from 35 overs with seven wickets in hand.
It was then that Binny took the game away from Mumbai, scoring at a rapid pace and smacking two towering sixes. His 92-run partnership for the sixth wicket in just 101 balls drove the final nail into Mumbai's coffin.
At no point did Rest look like saving the game, something that Mumbai were praying for with their down-the-leg-side tactics from Abdulla, which after a certain point were declared wide.
Tare used eight bowlers hoping for some breakthroughs. But that just remained hope till Jackson dashed all of them with the winning shot straight over mid-off for a four off Abdulla.
SCOREBOARD
Mumbai (1st innings): 603
Rest of India (1st innings): 306
Mumbai (2nd innings) 182
Rest of India (2nd innings, o/n 100/1): F Fazal c Tare b Abdulla 127, S Chatterjee c&b Abdulla 54, K Nair c Iyer b Abdulla 92, N Ojha run out 29, S Jackson not out 59, S Binny c Bista b Abdulla 54, J Yadav not out 19; Extras (LB1, W4, NB1) 6; Total (for 6 wickets, 129.4 overs) 482; Fall of wickets: 1-66 (23.2 ov, Bharat), 2-176 (61.1 ov, Chatterjee), 3-306 (93.5 ov, Fazal), 4-336 (101.4 ov, Nair), 5-353 (106.3 ov, Ojha), 6-445 (123.2 ov, Binny); Bowling: D Kulkarni 19-3-58-0, S Thakur 12-2-49-0, J Bista 23-0-98-0, A Nayar 11-4-28-0, S Yadav 6-0-23-0, I Abdulla 42.4-2-154-5 (W-4, NB-1), BS Sandhu 6-1-17-0, S Lad 3-0-17-0, S Iyer 7-0-37-0
Rest of India win by 4 wickets
Highest run chases in Indian first class cricket
1. 541/7 by West Zone chasing 536 against South Zone in Duleep Trophy final, Hyderabad, 2009-10
2. 503/4 by South Zone chasing 501 against England in Duleep Trophy (group stage), Gurgaon, 2003-04
3. 482/6 by Rest of India chasing 480 against Mumbai in Irani Cup, Mumbai, 2015-16
Gavaskar bats for Test players in Rest squad
A lot of questions were raised about the selection of players for the Rest of India in the Irani Cup. Only Stuart Binny, Naman Ojha and Jaydev Unadkat, with a combined total of eight Tests, 22 ODIs and four T20Is have played for India before, while the others have been rewarded for their performances in Ranji Trophy. Batting legend Sunil Gavaskar said he would have preferred to see Test players Murali Vijay, Cheteshwar Pujara and KL Rahul in the match. "Ideally yes. But I think the selectors had their own reasons for looking at other players thinking 'we have had a look at Pujara, Vijay and Rahul, we want to see somebody else'. When they see those players against the champion team, they also get a little bit of an idea about how he can bowl, how he can bat. But ideally, for it to competitive, I think it should be best of the rest." --G Krishnan
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