Irani Cup winners list

India, a cricket-crazy country, has a vast domestic cricket structure. From senior cricket tournaments to junior tournaments, the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) organises national-level competitions across formats. Ranji Trophy, Duleep Trophy, Vijay Hazare Trophy, Cooch Behar Trophy, and many more such tourneys take place across the country. Among them lies one trophy, which is a one-off contest between 2 teams, which is Irani Cup.

The BCCI started the Ranji Trophy, India’s premier First-Class tournament way back in November 1934. By the 1959-60 season, the premier red-ball tournament had entered its 25th year. So, the governing body decided to commemorate the Ranji Trophy’s 25th anniversary with a one-off match between 2 teams at the end of the season. 

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The 2 teams were Bombay (now Mumbai), the Ranji Trophy winners of that season and the Rest of India. The Rest of India squad was made up of players selected from different state Ranji teams, led by Nari Contractor. Polly Umrigar captained the Bombay Ranji team. Bombay won the Ranji Trophy by beating Mysore in the final by an innings and 22 runs. After 5 days, they were up against the Rest of India squad to play in the one-off Irani Cup match.

It was a First-Class match spread over 3 days, which ended up in a draw. Since Bombay had taken a first innings lead, they clinched the Irani Cup. Back then, the BCCI had organised the match as a special event to mark the 25 years of Ranji Trophy’s existence. So they didn’t continue with this fixture for the next 2 seasons.

But in the 1962-63 season, the BCCI made it a regular fixture of the Indian domestic cricket structure. For the 1959-60, 1962-63, and 1963-64 seasons, the matches took place at the end of the season. But from 1965-66 to 2012-13 seasons, the Irani Cup marked the beginning of a new season. Since 2013, the fixture has been moved to the start and end of the seasons due to various reasons.

Let's have a look at the Irani Cup winners list.

Which team has won the Irani Cup most times?

The Rest of India team has won the Irani Cup the most times, inscribing their name on the trophy over 30 times. Mumbai’s Ranji team stands second with 15 Irani Cup triumphs.

• Rest of India - 30 times
• Mumbai - 15 times
• Karnataka - 6 times
• Delhi - 2 times
• Railways - 2 times
• Vidarbha - 2 times

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Irani Cup Winners List