Mukesh Kumar for India (Source: AFP Photos)On Sunday, Mukesh Kumar took 6/33, including three wickets in his last four balls, to leave Jammu and Kashmir (J&K) stunned at Sher-i-Kashmir Stadium, Srinagar. Riding on his heroics, The Rest of India (ROI) defeated J&K by 169 runs to win the Irani Cup.Chasing 279, J&K got off to a decent start, with Qamran Iqbal and Shubham Khajuria scoring 54 runs for J&K without losing a wicket. ROI came back strongly after that, as Mukesh, ably supported by Akash Deep and Mukesh Choudhary, kept on taking wickets at regular intervals to bundle J&K out for 110 in 28.4 overs.It was Mukesh Kumar’s 11th five-wicket haul in First-Class cricket.Mukesh Picks Eight Wickets Across Both InningsEarlier in the first innings, Mukesh Kumar took two wickets for 84 runs as J&K posted 278. They took the first-innings lead after ROI, led by Rishabh Pant, were bowled out for 237 in the first innings.ROI, in reply, fought back strongly in the second innings, scoring 309. Smaran Ravichandran, who made 68 in the first innings, scored 135 in the second innings to take them to their total.Also Read: Who Is Umar Nazir Mir? Auqib Nabi's Replacement Who Got Rishabh Pant, Sarfaraz Khan's WicketsROI were 197/8 at one point. Mukesh Choudhary gave Ravichandran solid support with the bat, lasting 50 balls to make J&K’s lives difficult. Eventually, J&K, the defending Ranji Trophy champions, could not even get to close to the target.CREX @Crex_live Rest of India lift the Irani Cup for a record 31st time! 🏆 J&K fought hard to take the lead, but ROI bounced back like true champions: -Smaran Ravichandran’s brilliant 135 set a target of 279 -Mukesh Kumar’s ruthless 6/33 in 2nd innings dismantled J&K for 111 A commandingOct 4, 2026, 2:02 PM ROI Win 31st Irani Cup, 3rd In Last 5 YearsThis was ROI’s 31st Irani Cup victory. Of these, the trophy was shared twice, in 1965/66 and 1979/80.While Mumbai and Vidarbha won the Irani Cup in the previous two editions, ROI won it in successive seasons before that.Therefore, a victory over J&K helped ROI win the Irani Cup three times in the last five years.In 2022/23 and 2023/24, ROI defeated Madhya Pradesh and Saurashtra respectively to lift the Irani Cup trophy.Also Read: Irani Cup Winners List From 1959-2026
