Rest of India beat Gujarat by six wickets to lift the Irani Cup on Tuesday. Chasing a target of 379, captain Cheteshwar Pujara and Wriddhiman Saha staged a match-winning partnership of 316 runs for the fifth wicket to take Rest of India home. This was the 27th time Rest of India bagged the Irani Cup.
Saha and Pujara began rebuilding the innings when the score was 63/4. Saha went on to score an unbeaten knock of 203, while Pujara played a captain’s innings of 116 not out. The Gujarat bowlers failed to get any breakthrough as the duo ran away with the match.
Saha’s innings included six towering sixes and 26 fours, while Pujara played the anchor’s role smashing 16 fours. For Saha, this was his maiden double century in first-class cricket, with his previous highest score being 178 not out. Pujara’s golden season continued as he has amassed 1,406 runs in 19 innings with five hundreds and six fifties in first-class cricket since September 2016.
Brief scores:
Gujarat 358 and 246 lost to Rest of India 226 and 379/4 (Wriddhiman Saha 203 not out, Cheteshwar Pujara 116 not out) by six wickets.