| Irani Cup | |
| Country: | India |
| Administrator: | BCCI |
| Cricket Format: | First-class cricket |
| First: | 1959–60 |
| Last: | 2024–25 |
| Next: | 2025–26 |
| Tournament Format: | One-off |
| Participants: | 2 |
| Champions: | Mumbai (15th title) |
| Most Successful: | Rest of India (30 titles) |
| Qualification: | Ranji Trophy |
| Most Runs: | Wasim Jaffer (1,294)[1] |
| Most Wickets: | Padmakar Shivalkar (51)[2] |
| Current: | 2024–25 |
The Irani Cup, also known as the IDFC First Bank Irani Trophy for sponsorship reasons, is an annual one-off First-Class cricket match organised by the BCCI and contested each season by the reigning Ranji Trophy champions and a multi-state RoI team composed of players from the other state teams. 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.[3] 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.[4]
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.[5] 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]
The following table lists the results of all Irani Trophy matches.[3] 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.[3]
| Season | Venue | Winner | Runner-up | Result | Notes | Refs | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 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 | ||||||
| 1961–62 | |||||||
| match drawn | Bombay won the Irani Cup through their first innings lead. | [9] | |||||
| 1963–64 | District College Stadium, Anantpur | 109 runs | [10] | ||||
| 1964–65 | no competition | ||||||
| — | — | 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. | ||||
| 6 wickets | |||||||
| match drawn | Bombay won the Irani Cup through their first innings lead. | ||||||
| 119 runs | |||||||
| match drawn | Bombay won the Irani Cup through their first innings lead. | ||||||
| match drawn | Bombay won the Irani Cup through their first innings lead. | ||||||
| 119 runs | |||||||
| 220 runs | |||||||
| match drawn | Rest of India won the Irani Cup through their first innings lead. | ||||||
| match drawn | Karnataka won the Irani Cup through their first innings lead. | ||||||
| match drawn | Bombay won the Irani Cup through their first innings lead. | ||||||
| 10 wickets | |||||||
| innings and 168 runs | |||||||
| 9 wickets | |||||||
| 1979–80 | — | — | 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. | [11] | ||
| match drawn | Delhi won the Irani Cup through their first innings lead. | ||||||
| match drawn | Bombay won the Irani Cup through their first innings lead. | ||||||
| 5 wickets | |||||||
| match drawn | Karnataka won the Irani Cup through their first innings lead. | ||||||
| 4 wickets | |||||||
| match drawn | Bombay won the Irani Cup through their first innings lead. | ||||||
| innings and 232 runs | |||||||
| match drawn | Hyderabad won the Irani Cup through their first innings lead. | ||||||
| 3 wickets | |||||||
| 309 runs | |||||||
| match drawn | Rest of India won the Irani Cup through their first innings lead. | ||||||
| 4 wickets | |||||||
| innings and 122 runs | |||||||
| 181 runs | |||||||
| match drawn | Bombay won the Irani Cup through their first innings lead. | ||||||
| 9 wickets | |||||||
| 5 wickets | |||||||
| 54 runs | |||||||
| match drawn | Karnataka won the Irani Cup through their first innings lead. | ||||||
| innings and 60 runs | |||||||
| 10 wickets | |||||||
| 6 wickets | |||||||
| 5 wickets | |||||||
| 3 wickets | |||||||
| 290 runs | |||||||
| 9 wickets | |||||||
| 9 wickets | |||||||
| 9 wickets | |||||||
| Vadodara | Rest of India | Delhi | 187 runs | ||||
| match drawn | Rest of India won the Irani Cup through their first innings lead. | ||||||
| 361 runs | |||||||
| 404 runs | |||||||
| innings and 79 runs | [12] | ||||||
| match drawn | Rest of India won the Irani Cup through their first innings lead. | [13] [14] | |||||
| innings and 222 runs | |||||||
| 246 runs | [15] | ||||||
| 4 wickets | [16] | ||||||
| 6 wickets | [17] | ||||||
| match drawn | Vidarbha won the Irani Cup through their first innings lead. | ||||||
| match drawn | Vidarbha won the Irani Cup through their first innings lead. | ||||||
| 8 wickets | |||||||
| 2020–21 | In both of these seasons, the fixture was cancelled because of the COVID-19 pandemic | ||||||
| 2021–22 | |||||||
| 238 runs | |||||||
| 175 runs | |||||||
| match drawn | Mumbai won the Irani Cup through their first innings lead. | ||||||
| Appearances | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Team | Total | Champions | Runners-up | Shared/No Result | |
| Rest of India | 62 | 30 | 30 | 2 | |
| Mumbai | 30 | 15 | 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 | - | |
| Haryana | 1 | 1 | 0 | - | |
| Bengal | 1 | 0 | 1 | - | |
| Punjab | 1 | 0 | 1 | - | |
| Baroda | 1 | 0 | 1 | - | |
| Uttar Pradesh | 1 | 0 | 1 | - | |
| Gujarat | 1 | 0 | 1 | - | |
| Madhya Pradesh | 1 | 0 | 1 | - | |
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]
| 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 | |
| 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] |