Crickick.com brings it to its viewers some interesting snippets of Irani Trophy. Many cricket enthusiasts does not know that in the first ever Irani Trophy match played between Bombay and Rest of India at Delhi in 1959-60, Bombay had eleven cricketers while Rest of India had twelve cricketers. Lala Amaranath who led Rest of India bowled in Bombay’s innings, while Prem Bhatia batted in Rest of India’s innings !
SNIPPETS OF IRANI TROPHY : MANY FIRSTS IN INAGURAL FIXTURE OF IRANI TROPHY MATCH 1959-60
The first ever Irani Cup was played in 1959-60 between Bombay and Rest of India at Feroz Shah Kotla Grounds, New Delhi
Rival captains were Polly Umrigar for Bombay and Lala Amarnath for Rest of India. NS Tamhane for Bombay and BK Kunderan for Rest of India were the rival wicket keepers. KD Saxena and S Bhattacharya were the two umpires who officiated this game
This game consisted of 12 cricketers from Rest of India and 11 from Bombay and still regarded as the First Class match
When Bombay batted in the first innings, Skipper Lala of Amarnath of Rest of India opened the bowling to return with figures of 11.0-4-27-1 [that of SG Adhikari whom he had leg before wicket} and when Rest of India, in its first innings, Prem Bhatia batted in place of Lala Amaranath.
I asked Polly Umrigar whom I met at Bombay, and enquired about this instance, he said “ Lala could do any thing and get away with whatever he did”. Lala Amaranath was then a force to reckon with, in the administrative matters relating to the Board of Control for Cricket in India.
The first toss of the Irani Trophy game was won by PR Umrigar of Bombay. ML Apte was the first batsman to face the first ever ball bowled in Irani Trophy game by Lala Amarnath. SG Adhikari of Bombay was the first batsman to be dismissed – dismissed leg before wicket to Lala Amarnath – in Irani Trophy match. Lala Amarnath of Rest of India was the first bowler to take a wicket in Irani Trophy – that of SG Adhikari – whom he had leg before for zero. Lala Amarnath of Rest of India earned the distinction of becoming the first captain in Irani Trophy match to get a wicket
Polly Umrigar became the first centurion in Irani Trophy when he made 102 in this game. He also earned the distinction of becoming the first captain to register a hundred in Irani Trophy match.
ML Apte became the first batsman to register a ninety in Irani Trophy match. He was dismissed for 98 in this game.
Coupled with yet another fifty in the second innings – 70 – ML Apte became the first batsman to register twin fifties in Irani Trophy.
The first ever three figure partnership was registered in Irani Trophy was the fourth wicket partnership of 187 runs between ML Apte and PR Umrigar in this game.
JM Patel of Rest of India earned the distinction of becoming the first bowler to capture five or more wickets in Irani Trophy match. He retuned with figures of 23.0-3-98-5 in the first innings by capturing the wickets of ML Apte (caught Kunderan for 98}, PR Umrigar {caught Jaisimha for 102}, HD Amroliwala {caught Surti for zero}, SJ Diwadkar {leg before wicket for zero} and GS Ramchand {caught Contractor for 82}.
ND Contractor {108} and ML Jaisimha {105} of Rest of India provide the first instance of two batsmen from the team registering hundreds in Irani Trophy game. They scored hundreds in the first ever fixture of Irani Trophy game in 1959-60.
HD Amroliwala of Bombay became the first bowler to capture six wickets in Irani Trophy match when he returned with figures of 9.1-1-44-6.
JM Patel {5 for 98} and HD Amroliwala {6 for 44} in this match provide the first instance of two rival bowlers capturing five or more wickets in Irani Trophy match.
While Bombay batted in the second innings, HD Amroliwala shone with the willow too by scoring 77 not out. His performance of 6 for 44 with the leather and 76 not out with the willow, makes him the first all rounder to register a fifty and capture five plus wickets in Irani Trophy match.
Prem Bhatia who fielded for Rest of India in Bombay’s second innings, is credited with a catch as a substitute fieldsman. He caught SG Adhikari of the bowling of Rusi Surti for 23.
Prem Bhatia scored an exact half century – 50 – in Rest of India’s second innings – which gave him, perhaps first class cricket’s unique distinction – substitute’s first ever fifty.
RB Kenny of Bombay became the first victim of a wicket keeper in Irani Trophy game, when he was caught by BK Kunderan of Sohoni for four.
HD Amroliwala with his zero and 76 not out in this game became the first batsman to register zero and a fifty in Irani Trophy.
SNIPPETS FROM OTHER GAMES
There were no matches of Irani Trophy in 1960-61 and 1961-62 seasons.
Amroliwala was a useful wicket keeper too. He kept the wickets for Bombay in the second innings and effected three dismissals – two caught and one stumping in 1962-63 fixture.
Pankaj Roy {132} and PR Umrigar {124 not out} with their centuries in 1962-63 fixture provide the first instance of rival skippers registering hundreds in Irani Trophy match.
PR Umrigar of Bombay earned the distinction of registering consecutive hundreds in Irani Trophy games. He registered 102 in the first ever fixture in 1959-60 and followed it up with 124 not out in 1962-63. He is also the first captain in Irani Trophy to register two consecutive hundreds.
1962-63 fixture witnessed Bombay’s first five batsmen registering fifties – the only such instance in Irani Trophy matches played to date. FM Engineer {72}, SG Adhikari {173}, VJ Paranjpe [66}, RG Nadkarni {91} and skipper PR Umrigar {124 not out} were the first five batsmen to register fifties.
Baloo Gupte of Bombay became the first bowler to concede 100 plus runs in Irani Trophy. He returned with figures of 56.0-6-169-4 in 1962-63 fixture. He also became the first bowler to bowl fifty plus overs in Irani Trophy.
PR Umrigar of Bombay became the first bowler to concede 100 plus runs with no wickets. He returned with figures of 40.0-12-107-0 in 1962-63 fixture. PR Umrigar also holds the distinction of bowling ten or more maiden overs in Irani Trophy
Bhagawat Chandrashekhar became the first bowler to capture ten or more wickets in Irani Trophy. He returned with match figures of 10 for 97 {3 for 56 and 7 for 41} in 1962-63 fixture. His seven in the second innings makes him the first bowler in Irani Trophy to capture seven wickets in an innings.
Baloo Gupte became the second bowler to capture ten or more wickets in Irani Trophy. He returned with figures of 11 for 57 {5 for 11 and 8 for 46} in 1962-63 fixture. His eight in the second innings makes him the first bowler in Irani Trophy to capture eight wickets in an innings
Bhagawat Chandrashekar {10 for 97} and Baloo Gupte {11 for 57} with their ten plus wickets in 1962-63 fixture provide the first instance of rival bowlers capturing ten plus wickets in the same game in Irani Trophy
Bhagawant Chandrashekhar became the first bowler to witness a ten plus haul by a bowler going in vain – his 10 for 97 in 1962-63 fixture could not win the match for Rest of India.
Bowler’s performance of five wickets in an innings and six wickets in an innings have been witnessed in the same match while the performances of seven wickets in an innings and eight wickets in an innings was also witnessed in the same match
| 5WI |
5 |
98 |
JM Patel |
ROI |
Vs |
Bom |
Delhi |
1959 |
| 6WI |
6 |
44 |
Amroliwala |
Bom |
Vs |
ROI |
Delhi |
1959 |
| 7WI |
7 |
41 |
Chandra |
ROI |
Vs |
Bom |
Ananthpur |
1963 |
| 8WI |
8 |
48 |
BP Gupte |
Bom |
Vs |
ROI |
Ananthpur |
1963 |
Rest of India’s 83 all out in the first innings of 1963-64 provides the first instance of a team dismissed for a total below 100 runs in Irani Trophy.
Bombay’s 99 in the second innings of 1966-67 fixture at Calcutta provides the first instance of Bombay dismissed for a total below 100 in Irani Trophy. It is the second instance of a team dismissed for a total below 100 in Irani Trophy.
1968-69 fixture at Bombay – Brabourne Stadium, can be termed as Eknath Solkar’s Irani Trophy match. He gave a superb exhibition in all the three departments of the game – batting, bowling and fielding. With the willow he made a half century in the second innings – 4 and 50. With the leather he picked up nine wickets to return with the match figures of 9 for 134 {4 for 62 and 5 for 72}. He pouched seven catches in the match – five in the first and two in the second. His seven catches in a match was the then record for an Indian fieldsman. It’s a pity to note that despite such an all round performance by Solkar, his team Bombay lost the match on first innings lead to Rest of India.
Budhi Kunderan of Rest of India, became the first wicket keeper to effect five dismissals in an innings in Irani Trophy, when he caught three batsmen and stumped three batsmen in Bombay’s second innings of 1969-70 fixture played at Poona.
70 and 195 by Ramanath Parkar and 65 and 121 by Dilip Sardesai in 1972-73 fixture for Bombay, at Pune, provide the first instance of two batsmen registering fifty and hundred in Irani Trophy.
GR Viswanath of Karnataka became the first batsman to register a double hundred in Irani Trophy. He made 52 and 200 not out in 1974-75 fixtureat Pune. His 52 and 200 not out remains the only instance of a batman registering a fifty and a doube hundred in Irani Trophy.
SM Gavaskar of Bombay carried the bat through a completed innings when he remained not out on 156 in Bombay’s total of 307 at Pune in 1974-75. SM Gavaskar became the first batsman to carry the bat through a completed innings in Irani Trophy.
SMH Kirmani’s 99 for Karnataka in 1974-75 fixture at Pune makes him the first batsman to be dismissed for 99 in Irani Trophy
Gavaskar and Bishen Singh Bedi of Rest of India added 109 runs for the ninth wicket in 1974-75 fixture against Karnataka at Pune, providing the first instance of a three figure partnership for the ninth wicket in Irani Trophy.
Parthasarathy Sharma’s 206 for Rest of India at Delhi in 1976-77 fixture earned him the distinction of becoming the first captain to register a double hundred. He became the second batsman to register a double hundred in Irani Trophy
Yashpal Sharma became the second batman to be dismissed on 99 in Irani Trophy. He made 99 for Rest of India against Karnataka at Bangalore in 1978-79. The first batsman who was dismissed for 99 in Irani Trophy was Karnataka’s SMH Kirmani in 1974-75
The year 1980 witnessed the two fixtures of Irani Trophy. The 1979-80 fixture slated to be played between Delhi and Rest of India at Jullunder in February 1980 {2nd, 3rd, 4th and 5th} was washed out completely due to rain. 1980-81 fixture between Delhi and Rest of India was played at Delhi in October 1980 {23rd, 24th, 25th and 26th}. 1979-80 fixture was played at the end of the season due to International commitments, while the 1980-81 fixture was played prior to the start of the season
Surinder Amarnath became the third batsman in Irani Trophy to register a double hundred after GR Viswanath and Parthasarathy Sharma. Surinder Amarnath scored 235 not out for Delhi at Delhi in 1980-81.
1981-82 fixture at Indore witnessed a bowler capturing nine wickets in an innings in Irani Cup – Ravi Shastri of Bombay returned with figures of 45.0-8-101-9. Ravi Shastri is credited with the distinction of becoming the first bowler to capture nine wickets in Irani Trophy. This match also witnessed the first instance of two bowler capturing ten wickets in an innings – Ghavri {1 for 51} and Ravi Shastri {9 for 101}
Ravi Shastri is the only all rounder in Irani Trophy to register a half century and capture ten plus wickets in a match. He scored 80 and 4 not out and captured 11 for 146 {9 for 101 and 2 for 45} for Bombay at Indore in 1981-82
1982-83 fixture at Delhi witnessed a fantastic run chase in the fourth innings to win a game – the first of its kind in Indian domestic first class game. Set a target to chase 421 runs in 226 minutes and 20 mandatory overs, Rest of India won the game by five wickets with four balls to spare. The victory was possible due to some enthralling, breath taking knocks from the blades of Krish Srikkanth {110}, Arunlal {81} and Ashok Malhotra {116 not out}. The batting resembled a typical one day chase.
1983-84 fixture at Rajkot witnessed two bowlers sharing wickets equally in an innings – the first and the only instance ever witnessed in Irani Trophy so far. Left arm spinners of Karnataka – Raghuram Bhat and B Vijayakrishna shared the wickets equally by capturing five wickets each. Bhat had figures of 30.4-10-65-5, while B Vijayakrishna’s figures read 29.3-10-63-5.
GR Viswanath remains the only batsman to aggregate 1000 runs in Irani Trophy. He has an aggregate of 1001 runs from nine matches, 15 innings, two not outs, and his highest score being 200 not out. He has scored four centuries and five half centuries.
GR Viswanath is the first batsman to register four hundreds in Irani Trophy. The other batsman who has scored four hundreds in Irani Trophy is DB Vengsarkar.
Chandrakanth Pandit of Bombay became the first wicket keeper batsman to register a hundred in Irani Trophy when he made 123 in 1985-86 fixture at Nagpur
Chandrakant Pandit and Raju Kulkarni added 135 runs for the ninth wicket in 1985-86 fixture at Nagpur. This stand remains the best for the ninth wicket in Irani Trophy and also the second three figure partnership for the ninth wicket.
KP Bhaskar {some times referred to as Bhaskar Pillai} became the first batsman in Irani Trophy to register a zero and a hundred. He scored zero and 105 not out representing Rest of India against Bombay in 1985-86 at Nagpur
VB Chandrashekhar became the second batsman to register a zero and hundred in Irani Trophy. He made zero and 119 representing Tamilnadu against Rest of India at Chennai in 1988-89.
KP Bhaskar and VB Chandrashekhar are the only two batsmen to register zero and hundred in Irani Trophy match
Gopal Sharma of Rest of India became the first bowler in Irani Trophy to capture five or more wickets in each innings. He took 6 for 69 and 6 for 133 representing Rest of India against Tamilnadu at Chennai in 1988-89
Rest of India’s 737 for seven declared against Bengal in 1990-91 fixture at Bangalore remains the highest team total in Irani Cup.
Ravi Shastri {217} and PK Amre {246} registered double hundreds in this game representing Rest of India against Bengal at Bangalore in 1990-91. . This provides the only instance of two batsmen registering double hundreds in Irani Trophy.
Ravi Shastri with his 217 became the second captain to register a double hundred in Irani Trophy. His 217 remains the highest individual innings by a captain in Irani Trophy. PK Amre’s 246 remain the highest individual innings by a batsman in Irani Trophy.
In the match between Haryana and Rest of India at Faridabad in 1991-92, Rest of India innings in this game contained three centurions – WV Raman {149}, VG Kambli {116} and PK Amre {120} providing the first instance of three centurions in an innings in Irani Trophy.
Anil Kumble registered the best match figures in Irani Trophy in 1992-93. Representing Rest of India against Delhi. he returned with match figures of 13 for 138 {7 for 64 and 6 for 74} obliterating the previous best of 12 for 202 by Gopal Sharma of Rest of India against Tamilnadu at Chennai in 1988-89.
Anil Kumble became the second bowler in Irani Trophy to capture five or plus wickets in each innings. He captured 7 for 64 and 6 for 74 representing Rest of India against Delhi at Delhi in 1982-83
Z Bharucha became the second batsman to carry the bat through the completed innings in Irani Trophy. He scored 164 not out in Bombay’s total of 424 at Bombay-WS in 1994-95. The first batsman to carry the bat through a completed innings was SM Gavaskar. Z Bharucha and SM Gavaskar are the only two batsmen to have carried the bat through a complete innings in Irani Trophy.
J Arunkumar and R Vijay Bharadwaj scored 93 each against Rest of India representing Karnataka at Bangalore in 1996-97 providing the second instance of two batsmen from the same team registering individual nineties in Irani Trophy. The first such instance was witnessed when Raman Lamba and Gurusharan Singh of Delhi registered 93 and 94 respectively at Delhi in 1982-83. These are the only two instances in Irani Trophy when two batsmen from the same team registered nineties.
Dodda Ganesh remains the only fast bowler to capture five or more wickets in both innings in Irani Trophy. He became the third bowler to capture five or more wickets in both innings. He took 6 for 84 and 5 for 89 representing Karnataka against Rest of India at Bangalore in 1996-97. Other two bowlers are Gopal Sharma and Anil Kumble.
Anil Kumble’s 11 for 173 for Rest of India and SV Bahutule’s 13 for 168 for Mumbai at Mumbai-BS in 1997-98 provides the second instance of rival bowlers capturing ten or more wickets in the same match.
Anil Kumble remains the only bowler in Irani Trophy to capture ten or more wickets in Irani Trophy on two occasions. He had figures of 13 for 138 against Delhi in 1992-93 and 11 for 173 against Mumbai in 1997-98. On both the occasions, he was representing Rest of India
SV Bahutule became the fourth bowler in Irani Trophy to capture five wickets in both innings of a match. He took 5 for 97 and 8 for 71 representing Mumbai against Rest of India at Mumbai-BS in 1997-98. The other three bowlers are Gopal Sharma, Anil Kumble and Dodda Ganesh.
Murali Kartik became the second bowler after Ravi Shastri to capture nine wickets in an innings in Irani Trophy. He took 9 for 70 representing Rest of India against Mumbai at Mumbai-WS in 2000-01. His 9 for 70 remains the best bowling effort in an innings in Irani Trophy
In the Irani Trophy matches played so far. there are eleven teams who have played against Rest of India by virtue of their winning the Ranji Trophy previous season. The teams are – Mumbai, Karnataka, Delhi, Hyderabad, Tamilnadu, Bengal, Haryana, Punjab, Baroda, Railways and Uttar Pradesh
PA Patel holds the record for the highest individual innings by a wicket keeper batsman with his 179 against Mumbai at Rajkot in 2007-08. He was representing Rest of India in this game.