Irani Trophy
CountriesIndia
AdministratorBoard of Control for Cricket in India
FormatFirst-class cricket
First edition1959–60
Latest edition2023–24
Next edition2024–25
Tournament formatOne-off
Number of teams2
Current championRest of India
QualificationRanji Trophy
Most runsWasim Jaffer (1,294)[1]
Most wicketsPadmakar Shivalkar (51)[2]

The Z. R. Irani Cup, also known as the Irani Trophy, (officially as the IDFC First Bank Irani Trophy for sponsorship reasons), is an annual first-class cricket match organised by the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) and contested each season by the reigning Ranji Trophy champions and a multi-state Rest of India team (ROI) composed of players from the other state teams.[3][4] The inaugural edition was played in March 1960 as a special event to commemorate the 25th anniversary of the Ranji Trophy. It was intended to be a one-off match but, in 1962, BCCI decided to institute it as annual fixture and it has been played in most seasons since 1962–63.[5] BCCI named the Irani Trophy after Zal R. Irani, their long-serving president and treasurer, who was a significant figure in the organisation from its inception in 1928, till his death in 1970.[3]

History

The first match between the Ranji Trophy champions and the Rest of India was played in 1959–60. It was intended to be a one-off event to commemorate the 25th anniversary of the Ranji Trophy. In 1962, the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) decided to resurrect it as an annual event, although it did not take place in 1964–65. The trophy was named in honour of Zal R. Irani, who was a long time treasurer and president of BCCI, and a keen patron of the game. The first three matches were played towards the end of the season but then, having recognised the fixture's prestige, BCCI moved it to the beginning of the season and, from 1965–66 to 2012–13, it traditionally heralded the start of each new domestic season.

In 2013, the fixture was moved to a date immediately after the Ranji Trophy final, resulting in there being two Irani Cup matches in the 2012/13 season. The fixture has since remained at the end of the season, and is played shortly after the Ranji Trophy final.[4] Two matches were cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic and, in 2022, BCCI decided to organise two editions back-to-back. These were the 2019–20 and 2022–23 matches, which were played at Rajkot and Indore respectively.[6]

Results

The following table lists the results of all Irani Trophy matches.[5] The source shows that ROI have taken part in all 61 matches to the most recent in October 2023, winning 26 with 25 losses and eight draws. By far the most appearances by a single state side is 29 by Bombay/Mumbai, who have won the trophy twelve times. Karnataka have played in eight matches, winning six; and Delhi in seven, winning two. Four teams have appeared twice: Railways (two wins); Vidarbha (two draws); Rajasthan (two defeats); and Saurashtra (two defeats). Another nine teams have appeared once.[5]

Season Venue Winner Runner-up Result Notes Refs
1959–60 Karnail Singh Stadium, Delhi Bombay Rest of India match drawn The inaugural match was meant to be a one-off event to commemorate the 25th anniversary of the Ranji Trophy. Bombay won the drawn game by achieving first innings lead. Three Test batsmen — Polly Umrigar, Nari Contractor, and M. L. Jaisimha — scored centuries in the match. [7][8]
1960–61 no competition [5]
1961–62
1962–63 Brabourne Stadium Bombay Rest of India match drawn Bombay won the Irani Cup through their first innings lead. [9]
1963–64 District College Stadium, Anantpur Bombay Rest of India 109 runs [10]
1964–65 no competition [5]
1965–66 Nehru Stadium, Madras — — match drawn Although this match was drawn, the first innings lead tie-break rule could not be enforced since both first innings were not completed.
Bombay and Rest of India shared the trophy.[a]		 [5]
1966–67 Eden Gardens Rest of India Bombay 6 wickets
1967–68 Brabourne Stadium Bombay Rest of India match drawn Bombay won the Irani Cup through their first innings lead.
1968–69 Brabourne Stadium Rest of India Bombay 119 runs
1969–70 Poona Club Ground, Poona Bombay Rest of India match drawn Bombay won the Irani Cup through their first innings lead.
1970–71 Eden Gardens Bombay Rest of India match drawn Bombay won the Irani Cup through their first innings lead.
1971–72 Brabourne Stadium Rest of India Bombay 119 runs
1972–73 Poona Bombay Rest of India 220 runs
1973–74 Bangalore Rest of India Bombay match drawn Rest of India won the Irani Cup through their first innings lead.
1974–75 Ahmedabad Karnataka Rest of India match drawn Karnataka won the Irani Cup through their first innings lead.
1975–76 Vidarbha Bombay Rest of India match drawn Bombay won the Irani Cup through their first innings lead.
1976–77 Feroz Shah Kotla Bombay Rest of India 10 wickets
1977–78 Wankhede Stadium Rest of India Bombay innings and 168 runs
1978–79 Bangalore Rest of India Karnataka 9 wickets
1979–80 Jalandhar — — abandoned Heavy rain caused the match between ROI and Delhi to be abandoned without a ball bowled.
No toss was made and the Irani Cup was shared.		 [5][11]
1980–81 Feroz Shah Kotla Delhi Rest of India match drawn Delhi won the Irani Cup through their first innings lead.
1981–82 Indore Bombay Rest of India match drawn Bombay won the Irani Cup through their first innings lead.
1982–83 Feroz Shah Kotla Rest of India Delhi 5 wickets
1983–84 Rajkot Karnataka Rest of India match drawn Karnataka won the Irani Cup through their first innings lead.
1984–85 Feroz Shah Kotla Rest of India Bombay 4 wickets
1985–86 Vidarbha Cricket Association Ground Bombay Rest of India match drawn Bombay won the Irani Cup through their first innings lead.
1986–87 Jodhpur Rest of India Delhi innings and 232 runs
1987–88 Secunderabad Hyderabad Rest of India match drawn Hyderabad won the Irani Cup through their first innings lead.
1988–89 Chepauk Stadium Tamil Nadu Rest of India 3 wickets
1989–90 Wankhede Stadium Delhi Rest of India 309 runs
1990–91 Bangalore Rest of India Bengal match drawn Rest of India won the Irani Cup through their first innings lead.
1991–92 Faridabad Haryana Rest of India 4 wickets
1992–93 Feroz Shah Kotla Rest of India Delhi innings and 122 runs
1993–94 Ludhiana Rest of India Punjab 181 runs
1994–95 Wankhede Stadium Bombay Rest of India match drawn Bombay won the Irani Cup through their first innings lead.
1995–96 Wankhede Stadium Bombay Rest of India 9 wickets
1996–97 Bangalore Karnataka Rest of India 5 wickets
1997–98 Wankhede Stadium Mumbai Rest of India 54 runs
1998–99 Bangalore Karnataka Rest of India match drawn Karnataka won the Irani Cup through their first innings lead.
1999–2000 Bangalore Rest of India Karnataka innings and 60 runs
2000–01 Wankhede Stadium Rest of India Mumbai 10 wickets
2001–02 Vidarbha Rest of India Baroda 6 wickets
2002–03 Delhi Railways Rest of India 5 wickets
2003–04 Chepauk Stadium Rest of India Mumbai 3 wickets
2004–05 Mohali Rest of India Mumbai 290 runs
2005–06 Delhi Railways Rest of India 9 wickets
2006–07 Vidarbha Rest of India Uttar Pradesh 9 wickets
2007–08 Rajkot Rest of India Mumbai 9 wickets
2008–09 Vadodara Rest of India Delhi 187 runs
2009–10 Vidarbha Rest of India Mumbai match drawn Rest of India won the Irani Cup through their first innings lead.
2010–11 Jaipur Rest of India Mumbai 361 runs
2011–12 Jaipur Rest of India Rajasthan 404 runs
2012–13 Bangalore Rest of India Rajasthan innings and 79 runs [12]
2013 Wankhede Stadium Rest of India Mumbai match drawn Rest of India won the Irani Cup through their first innings lead. [13][14]
2013–14 Bangalore Karnataka Rest of India innings and 222 runs
2014–15 Bangalore Karnataka Rest of India 246 runs [15]
2015–16 Brabourne Stadium Rest of India Mumbai 4 wickets [16]
2016–17 Brabourne Stadium Rest of India Gujarat 6 wickets [17]
2017–18 Vidarbha Cricket Association Stadium Vidarbha Rest of India match drawn Vidarbha won the Irani Cup through their first innings lead.
2018–19 Vidarbha Cricket Association Stadium Vidarbha Rest of India match drawn Vidarbha won the Irani Cup through their first innings lead.
2019–20 Rajkot Rest of India Saurashtra 8 wickets
2020–21 In both of these seasons, the fixture was cancelled because of the COVID-19 pandemic [5]
2021–22
2022–23 Gwalior Rest of India Madhya Pradesh 238 runs
2023–24 Rajkot Rest of India Saurashtra 175 runs

Statistics

Team statistics

Appearances
Team Total Champions Runners-up Shared/No Result
Rest of India 61 30 29 2
Mumbai 29 14 14 1
Karnataka 8 6 2 -
Delhi 7 2 4 1
Railways 2 2 0 -
Rajasthan 2 0 2 -
Vidarbha 2 2 0 -
Saurashtra 2 0 2 -
Hyderabad 1 1 0 -
Tamil Nadu 1 1 0 -
Bengal 1 0 1 -
Haryana 1 1 0 -
Punjab 1 0 1 -
Baroda 1 0 1 -
Uttar Pradesh 1 0 1 -
Gujarat 1 0 1 -
Madhya Pradesh 1 0 1 -

Broadcasters

BCCI's official broadcasters Sports18 and JioCinema air the match live on TV and internet respectively. BCCI's website, bcci.tv, airs match highlights and scores.[18]

Sponsorship

Period Sponsor Brand
2007–2010 World Sport Group[19]
2010–2013 Bharti Airtel Airtel Irani Cup[20][21]
2013–2014 Star India Pvt. Ltd. Star Irani Cup[22][23]
2014–2015 Micromax Informatics Micromax Irani Cup[22]
2015–2022 Paytm Paytm Irani Cup[24][25]
2022–2023 Mastercard Mastercard Irani Cup[26]
2023–present IDFC First Bank IDFC First Irani Cup[27][28]

Notes

  1. ^ Usually, if the match is drawn, the trophy is awarded to the team which had first innings lead. There was an exception to this in 1965–66, when the trophy was shared because both first innings could not be completed.

References

  1. ^ "Irani Cup – Most Runs". ESPNcricinfo. Retrieved 5 December 2023.
  2. ^ "Irani Cup – Most Wickets". ESPNcricinfo. Retrieved 5 December 2023.
  3. ^ a b Irani Cup and full-fledged Indian teams. SportsKeeda. Retrieved 5 December 2023.
  4. ^ a b Menon, Mohandas. "Irani Cup: history and perspective". Wisden India. Archived from the original on 1 March 2014. Retrieved 18 February 2014.
  5. ^ a b c d e f g h Irani Cup Winners 1959/60–. Association of Cricket Statisticians and Historians. Retrieved 5 December 2023.
  6. ^ "Both Saurashtra and Madhya Pradesh to play Irani Cups in 2022–23". ESPNcricinfo. 6 September 2022.
  7. ^ Rest of India v Bombay: Irani Cup 1959/60. CricketArchive. Retrieved 5 December 2023. (subscription required)
  8. ^ Rest of India v Bombay: Irani Cup 1959/60. ESPNcricinfo. Retrieved 5 December 2023.
  9. ^ "Bombay vs ROI, Irani Trophy 1962/63". ESPNcricinfo. Retrieved 7 December 2023.
  10. ^ "ROI vs Bombay, Irani Trophy 1963/64". ESPNcricinfo. Retrieved 7 December 2023.
  11. ^ Rest of India v Delhi: Irani Cup 1979/80. CricketArchive. Retrieved 6 December 2023. (subscription required)
  12. ^ "ROI rout Rajasthan to win Irani Cup". Wisden India. 24 September 2012. Archived from the original on 4 March 2016. Retrieved 6 December 2023.
  13. ^ "Eighth consecutive title for ROI". ESPNcricinfo. 10 February 2013. Retrieved 6 December 2023.
  14. ^ "Jaffer ton in vain as Rest win Irani Cup". Wisden India. 10 February 2013. Archived from the original on 4 March 2016. Retrieved 6 December 2023.
  15. ^ "Irani Cup at Bengaluru, March 2015". ESPNcricinfo. Retrieved 6 December 2023.
  16. ^ "Irani Cup at Mumbai, March 2016". ESPNcricinfo. Retrieved 6 December 2023.
  17. ^ "Irani Cup at Mumbai, January 2017". ESPNcricinfo. Retrieved 6 December 2023.
  18. ^ "Irani Cup live streaming info". The Hindu. 28 February 2023. Retrieved 2 March 2023.
  19. ^ "Airtel wins India corporate sponsorship rights". ESPNcricinfo. Retrieved 10 January 2024.
  20. ^ "Airtel will not renew BCCI home series contract". ESPNcricinfo. Retrieved 10 January 2024.
  21. ^ "Airtel wins Team India home series sponsorship rights". Hindustan Times. 20 August 2010. Retrieved 10 January 2024.
  22. ^ a b Writer, Staff (28 August 2014). "Micromax wins BCCI sponsorship rights for 2014-15 matches". mint. Retrieved 10 January 2024.
  23. ^ "Star India gets series-title rights". ESPNcricinfo. Retrieved 10 January 2024.
  24. ^ "Paytm awarded title sponsorship rights for BCCI International and Domestic seasons 2019-23". www.bcci.tv. Retrieved 10 January 2024.
  25. ^ www.ETBrandEquity.com. "Mastercard replaces Paytm as title sponsor for all BCCI matches: Report - ET BrandEquity". ETBrandEquity.com. Retrieved 10 January 2024.
  26. ^ "Mastercard acquires title sponsorship rights for all BCCI international and domestic home matches". www.bcci.tv. Retrieved 10 January 2024.
  27. ^ "BCCI announces new title sponsor for international and domestic matches at home". India Today. Retrieved 10 January 2024.
  28. ^ "IDFC First acquires title sponsorship rights for all BCCI international and domestic home matches". www.bcci.tv. Retrieved 10 January 2024.

External links

Irani Cup
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