The Irani Trophy, also known as the Z R Irani Trophy, 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.Irani Cup Winners 1959/60–. Association of Cricket Statisticians and Historians. Retrieved 5 December 2023. 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.Irani Cup and full-fledged Indian teams. SportsKeeda. Retrieved 5 December 2023.
History 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. 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.
Results The following table lists the results of all Irani Trophy matches. 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 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. SeasonVenueWinnerRunner-upResult Notes Refs 1959–60 Karnail Singh Stadium Mumbai Rest of India 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. Rest of India v Bombay: Irani Cup 1959/60. CricketArchive. Retrieved 5 December 2023. Rest of India v Bombay: Irani Cup 1959/60. ESPNcricinfo. Retrieved 5 December 2023. 1960–61 no competition 1961–62 1962–63 Brabourne Stadium Mumbai Rest of India match drawn Bombay won the Irani Cup through their first innings lead. 1963–64 Neelam Sanjiva Reddy Stadium 109 runs 1964–65 no competition 1965–66 Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium (Chennai) 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. 1966–67 Eden Gardens Rest of India Mumbai 6 wickets 1967–68 Brabourne Stadium Mumbai Rest of India match drawn Bombay won the Irani Cup through their first innings lead. 1968–69 Rest of India Mumbai 119 runs 1969–70 Pune Club Ground Mumbai Rest of India match drawn Bombay won the Irani Cup through their first innings lead. 1970–71 Eden Gardens match drawn Bombay won the Irani Cup through their first innings lead. 1971–72 Brabourne Stadium Rest of India Mumbai 119 runs 1972–73 Nehru Stadium, Pune Mumbai Rest of India 220 runs 1973–74 M. Chinnaswamy Stadium Rest of India Mumbai match drawn Rest of India won the Irani Cup through their first innings lead. 1974–75 Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel Stadium, Navrangpura Karnataka Rest of India match drawn Karnataka won the Irani Cup through their first innings lead. 1975–76 Vidarbha Cricket Association Ground Mumbai match drawn Bombay won the Irani Cup through their first innings lead. 1976–77 Arun Jaitley Cricket Stadium 10 wickets 1977–78 Wankhede Stadium Rest of India Mumbai innings and 168 runs 1978–79 M. Chinnaswamy Stadium Karnataka 9 wickets 1979–80 Gandhi Stadium 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. Rest of India v Delhi: Irani Cup 1979/80. CricketArchive. Retrieved 6 December 2023. 1980–81 Arun Jaitley Cricket Stadium Delhi Rest of India match drawn Delhi won the Irani Cup through their first innings lead. 1981–82 Nehru Stadium, Indore Mumbai match drawn Bombay won the Irani Cup through their first innings lead. 1982–83 Arun Jaitley Cricket Stadium Rest of India Delhi 5 wickets 1983–84 Madhavrao Scindia Cricket Ground Karnataka Rest of India match drawn Karnataka won the Irani Cup through their first innings lead. 1984–85 Arun Jaitley Cricket Stadium Rest of India Mumbai 4 wickets 1985–86 Vidarbha Cricket Association Ground Mumbai Rest of India match drawn Bombay won the Irani Cup through their first innings lead. 1986–87 Barkatullah Khan Stadium Rest of India Delhi innings and 232 runs 1987–88 Gymkhana Ground, Secunderabad Hyderabad Rest of India match drawn Hyderabad won the Irani Cup through their first innings lead. 1988–89 M. A. Chidambaram Stadium Tamil Nadu 3 wickets 1989–90 Wankhede Stadium Delhi 309 runs 1990–91 M. Chinnaswamy Stadium Rest of India Bengal match drawn Rest of India won the Irani Cup through their first innings lead. 1991–92 Nahar Singh Stadium Haryana Rest of India 4 wickets 1992–93 Arun Jaitley Cricket Stadium Rest of India Delhi innings and 122 runs 1993–94 Punjab Agricultural University Stadium Punjab 181 runs 1994–95 Wankhede Stadium Mumbai Rest of India match drawn Bombay won the Irani Cup through their first innings lead. 1995–96 9 wickets 1996–97 M. Chinnaswamy Stadium Karnataka 5 wickets 1997–98 Wankhede Stadium Mumbai 54 runs 1998–99 M. Chinnaswamy Stadium Karnataka match drawn Karnataka won the Irani Cup through their first innings lead. Rest of India Karnataka innings and 60 runs 2000–01 Wankhede Stadium Mumbai 10 wickets 2001–02 Vidarbha Cricket Association Ground Baroda 6 wickets 2002–03 Karnail Singh Stadium Railways Rest of India 5 wickets 2003–04 M. A. Chidambaram Stadium Rest of India Mumbai 3 wickets 2004–05 I. S. Bindra Stadium 290 runs 2005–06 Karnail Singh Stadium Railways Rest of India 9 wickets 2006–07 Vidarbha Cricket Association Ground Rest of India Uttar Pradesh 9 wickets 2007–08 Madhavrao Scindia Cricket Ground Mumbai 9 wickets 2008–09 Reliance Stadium Delhi 187 runs 2009–10 Vidarbha Cricket Association Stadium Mumbai match drawn Rest of India won the Irani Cup through their first innings lead. 2010–11 Sawai Mansingh Stadium 361 runs 2011–12 Rajasthan 404 runs 2012–13 M. Chinnaswamy Stadium innings and 79 runs 2013 Wankhede Stadium Mumbai match drawn Rest of India won the Irani Cup through their first innings lead. 2013–14 M. Chinnaswamy Stadium Karnataka Rest of India innings and 222 runs 2014–15 246 runs 2015–16 Brabourne Stadium Rest of India Mumbai 4 wickets 2016–17 Gujarat 6 wickets 2017–18 Vidarbha Cricket Association Stadium Vidarbha Rest of India match drawn Vidarbha won the Irani Cup through their first innings lead. 2018–19 match drawn Vidarbha won the Irani Cup through their first innings lead. 2019–20 Niranjan Shah Stadium Rest of India Saurashtra 8 wickets 2020–21 In both of these seasons, the fixture was cancelled because of the COVID-19 pandemic 2021–22 2022–23 Captain Roop Singh Stadium 238 runs 2023–24 Niranjan Shah Stadium Saurashtra 175 runs 2024–25 Ekana Cricket Stadium Mumbai Rest of India match drawn Mumbai won the Irani Cup through their first innings lead. 2025–26 Vidarbha Cricket Association Stadium Vidarbha 93 runs 2026–27 Sher-e-Kashmir Stadium Rest of India Jammu & Kashmir 167 runs
Statistics
Team statistics AppearancesTeamTotalChampionsShared/No ResultRest of India6331302Mumbai3015141Karnataka862 Delhi7241Railways220 Rajasthan202 Vidarbha330 Saurashtra202 Hyderabad110 Tamil Nadu110 Haryana110 Bengal101 Punjab101 Baroda101 Uttar Pradesh101 Gujarat101 101 101
Broadcasters 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.
Sponsorship PeriodSponsorBrand2007–2010World Sport Group2010–2013Bharti AirtelAirtel Irani Cup2013–2014Star India Pvt. Ltd.Star Irani Cup2014–2015Micromax InformaticsMicromax Irani Cup2015–2022PaytmPaytm Irani Cup2022–2023MastercardMastercard Irani Cup2023–presentIDFC First BankIDFC First Irani Cup
Notes
References
External links Official website. BCCI. A brief history of the Irani Trophy. Rediff, India. Irani Trophy . SPORT195. Index of all Irani Trophy matches. CricketArchive.