BCCI president Mithun Manhas presents the trophy to Rest of India captain Rishabh Pant. (PTI Photo)
Pant, who made 10 and eight in the match, did not take the field on the fourth day, with Sarfaraz Khan taking over as on-field captain. Pant also reserved special praise for young batter Ravichandran Smaran, who scored 68 in the first innings before producing a match-winning 135 in the second. Because of fever, the Rest of India captain watched his teammates complete a stunning comeback against Jammu and Kashmir to reclaim the Irani Cup before joining the celebrations with the trophy and cake, on a day when he missed the action.
Addressing his teammates after the victory, Pant said the squad had been driven by the desire to restore pride after going without the Irani Cup for two years. One day, one over, one ball at a time and, everyone contributed in their own way,” he said. NEW DELHI: Rishabh Pant could not have asked for a better 29th birthday present. But his leadership was evident in the way Rest of India responded after falling behind early. “But, in the dressing room, whatever they do, we need to focus on ourselves. Obviously, most of the time, the game went in their favour. The captain praised his teammates for refusing to let the match slip away. “One thing for sure, our Rest of India team, we didn’t let it go. We just kept on fighting with every ounce of intensity we had.