SRINAGAR, October 4 — In a fiercely contested five-day first-class encounter at the Sher-i-Kashmir Stadium in Srinagar, Rest of India (ROI) triumphed over reigning Ranji Trophy champions Jammu and Kashmir by 112 runs to lift the prestigious Irani Cup 2026.
Rest of India laid the groundwork by posting 385 in their first innings, securing a 95-run first-innings cushion as Jammu and Kashmir replied with 290. Setting a challenging target of 366 after compiling 270 in the second innings, ROI's disciplined seam attack bowled out the hosts for 253 on the final afternoon, sealing a decisive red-ball victory.
The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) hosts the Irani Cup annually as the traditional curtain-raiser to the domestic season, pitting the reigning Ranji Trophy champions against an all-star Rest of India eleven selected by the senior national selection committee.
Domestic sports trophies, inaugural tournament histories, and athletic competitions are recurrent topics in SSC, railway, and state civil services general knowledge papers. Candidates should remember that the Irani Cup was instituted in the 1959–60 season to celebrate the silver jubilee of the Ranji Trophy and was named in tribute to long-standing BCCI administrator Zal R. Irani.