A contest that favours bowlers

The stats in Irani Trophy matches since 2000 indicate bowlers have dominated the contests

Siddhartha Talya23-Sep-2008Sachin Tendulkar is injured, and there are other significant omissions, but the squads for Rest of India and Delhi, the Ranji Trophy champions, have enough big names to ensure a high-profile contest for the 2008-09 Irani Trophy. Rest of India, comprising several current internationals, start as favourites. Since 2000, they have won six out of eight Irani Cup games, whereas in the 1990s they had won only four out of ten, and lost five in a row. Delhi have won the Irani Cup twice, in 1980-81 and 1989-90, and were runners-up on three occasions.

Rest of India win-loss record

Span Played Won Lost

Overall 46 19 25 1990-1999 10 4 6 2000-2007 8 6 2Notes:A characteristic of most Irani Cup matches since 2000 has been the relative dominance of bowlers. The high frequency of outright results in recent seasons, a deviation from the trend of high-scoring draws that dominated first-class cricket in the previous two decades, can be largely attributed to the bowlers’ greater influence. No team in the last seven years has scored 500 in an innings.

Highest scores in Irani Cup since 2000

Team Score Opposition Year

Rest of India 472 Mumbai 2007 Mumbai 453 Rest of India 2007Rest of India 389 Mumbai 2000 Rest of India 378 Mumbai 2004 Rest of India 340 for 7 Mumbai 2003

Lowest scores in Irani Cup since 2000

Team Score Opposition Year

Mumbai 106 Rest of India 2007 Rest of India 137 Railways 2005 Uttar Pradesh 148 Rest of India 2006 Uttar Pradesh 166 Rest of India 2006 Mumbai 184 Rest of India 2000 The competition has produced many noteworthy performances, especially by players who now make up the current Rest of India squad. Tendulkar’s replacement, S Badrinath, tops the batting averages with 109 in two games, including an unbeaten 80 in 2006. Rahul Dravid averages 91.20 from three matches while VVS Laxman averages 54.91, scoring two hundreds and a 99, all of which were match-winning knocks. Parthiv Patel, the probable opener for Rest of India, also boasts an admirable record, almost single-handedly leading his team to victory with 179 and an unbeaten 59 against Mumbai in 2007. Wasim Jaffer has been the most frequent participant in this tournament among the current participants, averaging 40.69 in 14 innings, which is lower than his first-class average of 48.In the Delhi squad, Virender Sehwag has made one Irani Cup appearance, scoring 52 runs in two innings, including a run-a-ball 36 against Mumbai in 2003. Gautam Gambhir has fared better, averaging 41 in three matches.

Best Irani Cup batting averages in current squads

Batsman Matches Innings Not-outs Runs Average

S Badrinath 2 2 1 109109.00 Rahul Dravid 3 6 1 456 91.20 Parthiv Patel 4 8 1 41058.57 Mohammad Kaif 2 3 1 11557.75 VVS Laxman 7 12 0 581 54.91 Gautam Gambhir 3 6 1 20541.00 Wasim Jaffer 7 14 1 52940.69Rest of India’s pace attack consists of Munaf Patel, who helped skittle Mumbai for 106 with a five-wicket haul in 2007, and Zaheer Khan, who’s been consistent with 16 wickets in three games. Delhi fast bowler Ishant Sharma represented Rest of India against Mumbai last year and took six wickets at an average of 15.66.However, the spinners who played an influential role in helping Rest of India dominate the competition for the last seven years are not in the current squad. Murali Kartik, dropped from India’s ODI team after the series against Pakistan in 2007, has captured 27 wickets in five matches. While Sarandeep Singh, Kulamani Parida and Ramesh Powar, three other notable performers in the competition, have been off the selectors’ radar for a while now, legspinner Piyush Chawla finds himself trumped by Pragyan Ojha, the left-arm spinner. Ojha joins the spin duo of and Anil Kumble – has taken 28 wickets in four matches – and Harbhajan Singh.

Best Irani Cup bowling averages in current squads

Bowler Matches Runs Wickets Average

Ishant Sharma 1 94 6 15.66 Zaheer Khan 3 286 16 17.88 Anil Kumble 4 527 28 18.82 Munaf Patel 2 152 5 30.40 Harbhajan Singh 1 123 4 30.75 Sides fielding first have dominated the Irani Cup since 2000, winning seven of the eight matches. In the last three years, however, teams winning the toss have batted (and lost). The pitches at venues which have hosted the competition since 1990 have proved conducive to both pace and spin. In the last seven years, fast bowlers have taken nearly 54% of the wickets in each innings. Spinners on the winning team have had a greater say in the second innings of matches with outright results, capturing 55% of the wickets.

Bowlers’ wicket share in outright results

Year Bowlers % of wickets in 1st innings % of wickets in 2nd innings

1990-99 Pace 60 45 Spin 40 55 2000-07 Pace 54 54 Spin 46 46Since 2000, teams batting first have struggled in their second innings. Their average total score declines from 285 in the first innings to 224 in the second. In fact, these failures have proved pivotal in their defeats, with sides reaching targets with ease. The last three games have resulted in nine-wicket wins for the side batting fourth.

Third-innings totals (2000-07)

Year Team Score Result

2000 Mumbai 184 Lost by ten wickets 2001 Baroda 285 Lost by six wickets 2002 Rest of India 292 Lost by five wickets 2003 Mumbai 244 Lost by three wickets 2004 Rest of India 378 Won by 290 runs 2005 Rest of India 137 Lost by nine wickets 2006 Uttar Pradesh 166 Lost by nine wickets 2007 Mumbai 106 Lost by nine wickets The difference in first-innings scores in matches played since 2000 has not been substantial. The average first-innings lead in these games is only 71 runs.

Difference in first-innings scores (2000-07)

Year First-innings scores Difference

2000 260 and 389 129 2001 318 and 331 13 2002 266 and 316 50 2003 297 and 202 95 2004 314 and 198 116 2005 223 and 311 88 2006 148 and 201 53 2007 453 and 472 19 However, between 1990 and 1999, the contests were more one-sided, with the first-innings lead in ten games averaging 206.

Difference in first-innings scores (1990-99)

Year First-innings scores Difference

1990 737 and 262 475 1991 518 and 459 59 1992 638 and 229 409 1993 347 and 234 113 1994 424 and 193 231 1995 99 and 266 167 1996 203 and 356 153 1997 473 and 279 194 1998 326 and 221 105 1999 170 and 321 151 With the rain keeping the IPCL Stadium pitch under wraps for the last 10 days, the curators have had little time to produce a track that would fit such a big game. One day before the start of the match, the pitch is a big variable, and it remains to be seen if the pattern of the recent Irani Cup matches will be repeated over the next five days.