Irani Cup: Rest of India produced a stunning bowling display to beat Jammu and Kashmir by 167 runs and win the Irani Cup in Srinagar on Sunday. Mukesh Kumar and Akash Deep combined for nine wickets as the Ranji Trophy champions collapsed from 89/3 to 111 all out while chasing 279.

Mukesh, Akash trigger stunning J&K collapse

Jammu and Kashmir appeared to be on course to secure the draw they needed after reaching 89/3 at lunch on the fourth day. Having taken a 41-run first-innings lead, J&K would have lifted the trophy if they could avoid defeat.

Instead, their lower order folded dramatically after the break, with the final seven wickets falling for just 22 runs.

Mukesh Kumar was the chief destroyer for Rest of India, finishing with outstanding figures of 6/33. Akash Deep complemented him brilliantly with 3/25 as the hosts were dismissed for only 111 in 28.4 overs.

J&K's chase initially looked comfortable, with Shubham Khajuria and Qamran Iqbal putting together a 54-run opening partnership. Both batters scored 32 before Akash ended Iqbal's resistance by trapping him in front.

Mukesh then changed the complexion of the innings shortly before lunch. He removed Shubham Pundir and J&K captain Paras Dogra with successive deliveries in the 15th over.

Dogra was beaten by a delivery that moved away just enough to breach his defence and hit the middle stump, leaving J&K three wickets down.

Khajuria and Abdul Samad guided J&K to 89/3 at lunch, with the former unbeaten on 36. But the brief sense of security disappeared almost immediately after the interval.

Khajuria fell to Akash off the first ball of the afternoon session, opening the door for a remarkable collapse.

J&K subsequently lost six more wickets in the space of nine overs, adding only 22 runs to their score. The hosts went from being firmly in contention for a draw to being bowled out without putting up a serious fight.

Rest Of India Seal Irani Cup With Dominant Second Innings

Rest of India's victory was set up by their batting effort in the second innings. Resuming on 306/8, they added only 13 runs before being dismissed for 319.

Jammu and Kashmir's Umar Nazir, Sunil Kumar and Sahil Lotra picked up three wickets each, but the hosts could not replicate that discipline when they began their chase.

Rest of India had already secured a 41-run deficit advantage from the first innings, meaning J&K needed to survive the final innings rather than chase down the target aggressively.

The target of 279 eventually proved far beyond them as Mukesh and Akash exposed the fragility of the J&K batting line-up.

Akash's performance will also offer encouragement to India's team management. The pacer bowled 23.3 overs across the match and claimed six wickets, underlining his ability to sustain a heavy workload in a first-class contest.

With Rest of India closing out a comprehensive 167-run victory, the Irani Cup ultimately belonged to their pace attack.

Brief scores: Rest of India 237 and 319 beat Jammu and Kashmir 278 and 111 all out in 28.4 overs (Shubham Khajuria 36; Mukesh Kumar 6/33, Akash Deep 3/25) by 167 runs.