Till a few years ago, you could call Vidarbha many things — studious, sincere, disciplined — but never fiery. They were the polite achievers of Indian domestic cricket — methodical in pursuit, measured in celebration.
But something has shifted. The new generation wears its hunger on its sleeve, and it showed on Sunday. When Vidarbha’s
Yash Thakur and Rest of India’s Yash Dhull exchanged heated words, it was an un-Vidarbha moment — yet one that captured this team’s evolution.
This young side, with an average age of just 24, doesn’t merely aim to win; it wants to own the moment. And they did so in emphatic fashion, beating Rest of India by 93 runs to claim their third Irani Cup.
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The Jamtha stadium saw tension flicker like static when Thakur sent down a short ball to Dhull — who had begun to look ominous. Dhull went for the upper cut, but the connection faltered. At deep third man, Atharva Taide glided across and clasped the ball inches inside the rope. As Thakur roared in celebration, chest swelling with adrenaline, Dhull turned back with a stare at the bowler. Words were exchanged, tempers rose, and for a fleeting moment, fists almost followed.
The umpires and teammates stepped in, defusing the heat.
That wicket — Dhull falling nine runs short of a century — didn’t just end a fine innings; it cracked open the Rest of India resistance. From 226 for 6, they folded for 267. The dismissal summed up what this young side had become — no longer content with quiet excellence, but unafraid to snarl back when challenged.
Dhull’s 92, carved out of 117 balls with eight fours and a six, had kept Rest of India alive after a top-order collapse that saw the team crumble to 80 for 5 within the first session.
Rajat Patidar and Ishan Kishan’s early exits had set the tone. Patidar spooned a return catch to Aditya Thakare while Kishan holed out off Harsh Dubey’s spin, and Ruturaj Gaikwad again fell cheaply.
But Dhull, batting with Saransh Jain first and later Manav Suthar, refused to fold. Together, they added over a hundred runs for the seventh wicket. The young Delhi batter cut and drove with precision, his strokes laced with defiance.
Suthar, elegant and composed, gave him company as the partnership blossomed and the equation briefly tilted towards RoI. Vidarbha knew that just one mistake from batters would bring them back — and Dhull’s came when he tried to clear the fence once too often.
After that, it was a procession. Thakur, charged with emotion, dismissed Anshul Kamboj off the very next delivery, before Taide capped his fielding heroics with a running catch to seal the win — and with it, Vidarbha’s third Irani Cup title.
Brief ScoresVidarbha:
342 and 232 beat
Rest of India:
214 and (target 361): 267 in 73. 5 overs (Yash Dhull 92, Manav Suthar 56, Harsh Dubey 4/73 and Yash Thakur 2/47)
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