The Irani Cup is an annual Test match played between the reigning Ranji Trophy champions and the Rest of India side consisting of players from various Ranji teams.
Founded during the 1959-60 season, the tournament is named after the late Z.R.Irani, who was part of the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) between 1928 and 1970. The Irani Cup was created to mark the completion of 25 years of the Ranji Trophy championship.
The inaugural edition of the Irani Cup witnessed Ranji Trophy winners, Bombay, lock horns with the Rest of India at the Feroz Shah Kotla (now Arun Jaitley Stadium) in Delhi in March 1960.
Electing to bat first, Bombay rode on captain Polly Umrigar’s scintillating hundred (102) along with contributions from Madhav Apte (98) and Gulabrai Ramchand (82) to post 344 in their first innings. Gujarat off-spinner Jasunbhai Patel was the wrecker-in-chief for the Rest of India as he picked five wickets for 98 runs.
In reply, Nari Contractor (108) and Motganhalli Jaisimha (105) powered Rest of India to 298 all out. Bombay leg-spinner Hoshang Amroliwala claimed six wickets for just 44 runs to put the Ranji Trophy champions in an advantageous position.
In the second innings, Madhav Apte (70) and Hoshang Amroliwala (76) slammed fifties before Bombay decided to declare at 210/5.
Chasing 257, Rest of India could only manage 111/7 as Bombay pipped them on the basis of the first-inning lead to clinch the inaugural Irani Cup title. Since then, Bombay have appeared in 29 Irani Cup finals, winning 12 of them.
Meanwhile, Rest of India have won the Irani Cup on 24 occasions so far.
The last edition of the Irani Cup was held in February 2019 when Vidarbha defeated Rest of India on the basis of first-innings lead.
The 2019-20 edition of the Irani Cup had to be cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic while the 2020-21 edition was not held due to the same reason.
The Irani Cup returned after two years when 2020-21 Ranji Trophy champions Madhya Pradesh hosted Rest of India in Gwalior in March 2023. However, Madhya Pradesh lost to Rest of India by 238 runs at the Captain Roop Singh Stadium.
Mumbai are the defending champions of the Irani Cup after they beat Rest of India by virtue of first innings lead at the Bharat Ratna Shri Atal Bihari Vajpayee Ekana Cricket Stadium in Lucknow in October 2024. Get Irani Cup winners list.
Irani Cup winners list
| Season | Winner | Against | Result | Venue |
| 1959-60 | Bombay | Rest of India | 1st Innings Lead | Feroz Shah Kotla |
| 1960-61 | Not held | |||
| 1962-63 | Bombay | Rest of India | 1st Innings Lead | Brabourne Stadium |
| 1963-64 | Bombay | Rest of India | Won by 109 runs | Neelam Sanjeeva Reddy Stadium |
| 1964-65 | Not held | |||
| 1965-66 | Bombay/Rest of India (Shared) | Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium (Chennai) | ||
| 1966-67 | Rest of India | Bombay | 6 wickets | Eden Gardens |
| 1967-68 | Bombay | Rest of India | 1st Innings Lead | Brabourne Stadium |
| 1968-69 | Rest of India | Bombay | Won by 119 runs | Brabourne Stadium |
| 1969-70 | Bombay | Rest of India | 1st Innings Lead | Pune Club Ground |
| 1970-71 | Bombay | Rest of India | 1st Innings Lead | Eden Gardens |
| 1971-72 | Rest of India | Bombay | Won by 119 runs | Brabourne Stadium |
| 1972-73 | Bombay | Rest of India | Won by 220 runs | Nehru Stadium, Pune |
| 1973-74 | Rest of India | Bombay | 1st Innings Lead | M.Chinnaswamy Stadium |
| 1974-75 | Karnataka | Rest of India | 1st Innings Lead | Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel Stadium |
| 1975-76 | Bombay | Rest of India | 1st Innings Lead | Vidarbha Cricket Association |
| 1976-77 | Bombay | Rest of India | 10 wickets | Feroz Shah Kotla |
| 1977-78 | Rest of India | Bombay | Innings and 168 runs | Wankhede Stadium |
| 1978-79 | Rest of India | Karnataka | 9 wickets | M.Chinnaswamy Stadium |
| 1979-80 | Not held | |||
| 1980-81 | Delhi | Rest of India | 1st Innings Lead | Feroz Shah Kotla |
| 1981-82 | Bombay | Rest of India | 1st Innings Lead | Nehru Stadium, Indore |
| 1982-83 | Rest of India | Delhi | 5 wickets | Feroz Shah Kotla |
| 1983-84 | Karnataka | Rest of India | 1st Innings Lead | Madhavrao Scindia Cricket Groumd |
| 1984-85 | Rest of India | Bombay | 4 wickets | Feroz Shah Kotla |
| 1985-86 | Bombay | Rest of India | 1st Innings Lead | Vidarbha Cricket Association |
| 1986-87 | Rest of India | Delhi | Innings and 232 runs | Barkatullah Khan Stadium |
| 1987-88 | Hyderabad | Rest of India | 1st Innings Lead | Gymkhana Ground, Secunderabad |
| 1988-89 | Tamil Nadu | Rest of India | 3 wickets | M.A.Chidamabaram Stadium |
| 1989-90 | Delhi | Rest of India | 309 runs | Wankhede Stadium |
| 1990-91 | Rest of India | Bengal | 1st Innings Lead | M.Chinnaswamy Stadium |
| 1991-92 | Haryana | Rest of India | 4 wickets | Nahar Singh Stadium |
| 1992-93 | Rest of India | Delhi | Innings and 122 runs | Feroz Shah Kotla |
| 1993-94 | Rest of India | Punjab | 181 runs | Punjab Agricultural University Stadium |
| 1994-95 | Bombay | Rest of India | 1st Innings Lead | Wankhede Stadium |
| 1995-96 | Bombay | Rest of India | 9 wickets | Wankhede Stadium |
| 1996-97 | Karnataka | Rest of India | 5 wickets | M.Chinnaswamy Stadium |
| 1997-98 | Mumbai | Rest of India | 54 runs | Wankhede Stadium |
| 1998-99 | Karnataka | Rest of India | 1st Innings Lead | M.Chinnaswamy Stadium |
| 1999-00 | Rest of India | Karnataka | Innings and 60 runs | M.Chinnaswamy Stadium |
| 2000-01 | Rest of India | Mumbai | 10 wickets | Wankhede Stadium |
| 2001-02 | Rest of India | Baroda | 6 wickets | Vidarbha Cricket Association |
| 2002-03 | Railways | Rest of India | 5 wickets | Karnail Singh Stadium |
| 2003-04 | Rest of India | Mumbai | 3 wickets | M.A.Chidamabaram Stadium |
| 2004-05 | Rest of India | Mumbai | 290 runs | Punjab Cricket Association |
| 2005-06 | Railways | Rest of India | 9 wickets | Karnail Singh Stadium |
| 2006-07 | Rest of India | Uttar Pradesh | 9 wickets | Vidarbha Cricket Association |
| 2007-08 | Rest of India | Mumbai | 9 wickets | Madhavrao Scindia Cricket Groumd |
| 2008-09 | Rest of India | Delhi | 187 runs | Reliance Cricket Stadium |
| 2009-10 | Rest of India | Mumbai | 1st Innings Lead | Vidarbha Cricket Association |
| 2010-11 | Rest of India | Mumbai | 361 runs | Sawai Mansingh Stadium |
| 2011-12 | Rest of India | Rajasthan | 404 Runs | Sawai Mansingh Stadium |
| 2012-13 | Rest of India | Rajasthan | Innings and 79 Runs | M.Chinnaswamy Stadium |
| 2013 | Rest of India | Mumbai | 1st Innings Lead | Wankhede Stadium |
| 2013-14 | Karnataka | Rest of India | Innings and 222 runs | M.Chinnaswamy Stadium |
| 2014-15 | Karnataka | Rest of India | 246 Runs | M.Chinnaswamy Stadium |
| 2015-16 | Rest of India | Mumbai | 4 wickets | Brabourne Stadium |
| 2016-17 | Rest of India | Gujarat | 5 wickets | Brabourne Stadium |
| 2017-18 | Vidarbha | Rest of India | 1st Innings Lead | Vidarbha Cricket Association |
| 2018-19 | Vidarbha | Rest of India | 1st Innings Lead | Vidarbha Cricket Association |
| 2019-20 | Match Cancelled due to COVID-19 pandemic | |||
| 2020-21 | Not held | |||
| 2021-22 | Not held | |||
| 2022-23 | Rest of India | Madhya Pradesh | 238 runs | Captain Roop Singh Stadium, Gwalior |
| 2023-24 | Rest of India | Saurashtra | 175 runs | Saurashtra Cricket Association Stadium, Rajkot |
| 2024 | Mumbai | Rest of India | 1st Innings Lead | Bharat Ratna Shri Atal Bihari Vajpayee Ekana Cricket Stadium, Lucknow |
Featured photo: BCCI
