'It feels very good' - Rishabh Pant lauds ROI's all-round effort in Irani Cup victory

Rest of India defeated Jammu and Kashmir by 167 runs in the Irani Cup 2026, with the four-day contest concluding on Sunday, October 4, at the Sher-i-Kashmir Stadium in Srinagar. The match had begun on October 1, and ROI were led throughout by Rishabh Pant, who lifted the Irani Cup trophy on the final day.

October 4 also happened to be Pant's 29th birthday, making the trophy lift a doubly memorable occasion for the wicketkeeper-batter. He expressed satisfaction with the team's collective effort after the win, describing the feeling as very good.

"When you win, all the pain and fever goes away. (Plan for today) Plan was to bowl fuller. We were more back of a length and we wanted to correct it. We know our bowlers were very good. We corrected that and bowled fuller," Pant expressed after the match at the post-match presentation ceremony.

"Obviously you will get disappointed if you do not stick to the plan. But when you stick to your plan, it feels very good," Pant added.

Meanwhile, Mukesh Kumar was the most influential bowler in the contest. He finished with eight wickets across the match, with his second-innings figures of 6/33 proving decisive in bowling out the opposition and sealing the 167-run victory for ROI.

Pant credited both the bowling unit as a key factor in the Irani Cup win. Mukesh's six-wicket haul in the second innings was central to dismissing Jammu and Kashmir for a total that left ROI winners by 167 runs.

On the other hand, Ravichandran Smaran was the standout batter for Rest of India across both innings. He contributed 68 in the first innings and returned with an unbeaten 135 in the second, finishing as the highest run-getter of the match. His second-innings knock set up a target that proved well beyond Jammu and Kashmir's reach.

"Smaran, the way he played in both innings, it was an outstanding innings, especially with the position we were in," Pant credited Smaran

How did ROI manage Pant's absence on day 3?

For the unversed, Pant did not take the field on the third day of the all-important clash due to fever, which required Rest of India to name a stand-in captain for that day. Sarfaraz Khan stepped up to lead the side in Pant's absence and ensured the team's momentum was not disrupted.

Pant returned to captain the side on the final day, October 4, as ROI completed the victory. The win meant he celebrated his 29th birthday by lifting the Irani Cup as captain of the winning team at Srinagar, with Sarfaraz memorably lifting Pant in celebration at the ground after the match concluded.