‘Thanks for the gift’: Rishabh Pant’s 29th birthday was special as Rest of India regained Irani Cup

BCCI President Mithun Manhas presents the trophy to Rest of India captain Rishabh Pant. (PTI Photo) NEW DELHI: Rishabh Pant couldn’t have asked for a better 29th birthday present. On a day he missed the action due to fever, the Rest of India captain watched his teammates complete a stunning comeback against Jammu and Kashmir to win the Irani Cup before joining the celebrations with the trophy and cake.Rest of India, after conceding a 41-run first innings lead to the Ranji Trophy champions, bowled out J&K for just 111 in their chase of 279 on Sunday to seal an impressive 167-run victory at the Sher-i-Kashmir Stadium.Pant, who had given 10 and 8 in the match, did not take the field on the fourth day and Sarfaraz Khan took over as the on-field captain. But his leadership was evident in the way the rest of India responded after falling behind early.

‘We just kept fighting’

Addressing his teammates after the victory, Pant said the team was driven by the desire to restore pride after being without the Irani Cup for two years.“Big effort guys. In the last 5-7 days we discussed let’s play for pride and let’s play for our monogram. No matter what happens, especially in the first innings, they batted well and took the lead in the first innings,” Pant said in a video released by BCCI Domestic.“But in the dressing room, whatever they do, we have to focus on ourselves. Obviously, the game was going in their favor most of the time.”The captain praised his teammates for refusing to let the game slip away.“One thing is for sure, our rest of India team, we didn’t let it go. We just kept fighting with every ounce of intensity we had. One day, one over, one ball at a time and everyone contributed in their own way,” he said.“We haven’t won in the last two years. But we made sure that when we leave this field, we put our name on the trophy as a winner.”

‘Thanks for the gift’

The celebrations became even more special when Pant’s birthday fell on the day of the triumph.In a video shared by BCCI Domestic, his teammates and coaches gathered around the keeper and sang ‘Happy Birthday’ in unison. Members of the ground staff also offered their blessings and wishes before Pant cut the cake and posed with the trophy alongside his teammates.“Thanks for the gift,” said a smiling Pant as the dressing room celebrations continued.The skipper also explained how a tactical adjustment in bowling helped turn the match around.“We mostly planned to bowl fuller in the first innings. That was the conversation we had with the bowlers that we were like backing up the length,” Pant said at the post-match presentation.“That was something we wanted to fix in the second inning because we knew our pitchers were really good, but the problem was in the first inning we threw too far back and we fixed that and we played fuller and fuller in the second inning.”Mukesh Kumar led the demolition with 6-33 as J&K collapsed after lunch.Pant also reserved special praise for young batsman Ravichandran Smaran, who scored 68 in the first innings before making a match-winning 135 in the second.“All the pieces fell into place today but at the same time you know as you mentioned Smaran, the way he played in both innings, I think they were excellent innings, especially we were under pressure, especially in the second innings the way he played, it was outstanding,” Pant said.