Vadodara: Rest of India bagged the Irani Trophy for the 20th time beating by a huge 187-run margin at the Reliance Stadium here on Saturday here on Saturday. After Delhi lost their top three batsmen for 113 at close on the third day chasing 378 for a win, the writing was clear on the wall. But after Aakash Chopra, who could not open the innings due to an ankle sprain, went for a first ball duck on the fourth morning, it was curtains for Delhi.
The only interest after that was whether Delhi opener Gautam Gambhir could get his hundred as he was running out of partners. he tried to shield the lower order from Anil Kumble and Harbhajan Singh but in the end Gambhir himself gout out for a well composed 91.
Brief Score: Rest of India 252 (Jaffer 50) and 302 (Dhoni 84, Dravid 69, Nanda 5-48) beat Delhi 177 (Munaf 4-31) and 190 (Gambhir 91, Harbhajan 4-31) by 187 runs.
Munaf penalized 75% of match fee: Rest of India's bowler Munaf Patel is likely to lose 75% of his match fees after Delhi skipper complained to the match referee Rajendra Jadeja that the seamer has used objectionable words against Aakash Chopra during their Irani Trophy tie.