Rest of India captain Rishabh Pant revealed that a conscious decision to adjust their bowling lengths and hit a fuller line in the second innings paid off as the side thrashed Jammu and Kashmir by 167 runs to win the Irani Cup on Sunday. After conceding a 41-run first-innings lead to Jammu and Kashmir, the Ranji Trophy champions, Rest of India produced a devastating post-lunch performance on day four, led by pacer Mukesh Kumar’s 6-33, to bundle them out for a meagre 111 in pursuit of 279. Pant, who was down with fever and didn’t take the field on Sunday, admitted that the bowlers had strayed from their initial strategy during J&K’s first essay but praised the group for making the required tactical course corrections when it mattered the most.
Pant was also effusive in his praise for young batter Ravichandran Smaran, whose twin knocks of 68 and a brilliant second-innings 135 rescued Rest of India from perilous situation to set up the match in their favour.
“That was something we wanted to correct in the second innings because we knew our bowlers were really good, but the problem was the first innings we bowled too much back of the length, and we corrected that and bowled fuller and fuller in the second innings,” Pant said at the post-match presentation ceremony.
