VID vs ROI, Preview | Wadkar’s Vidarbha set to lock horns with Patidar-led Rest of India in Irani Cup

ByUmesh Sharma,SportsCafe Editor

Today at 5:49 PM

The Ranji Trophy 2025 champions, Vidarbha, will take on the Rajat Patidar-led Rest of India in the one-off Irani Cup First-Class contest from October 1 onwards, at the Vidarbha Cricket Association Stadium in Nagpur. Vidarbha will look forward to making a winning hat-trick against Rest of India..

Rajat Patidar to lead Rest of India in Irani Cup 2025-26

Vidarbha are coming off an amazing title-winning campaign in the Ranji Trophy 2025, which concluded earlier this year. They registered five consecutive wins in the last five games of their campaign, including a win in the tournament’s summit clash. Vidarbha defeated Kerala in the final, on the first-innings lead. Now, they will aim to continue their winning streak in the first-class games. Besides that, they will also have a moral advantage over the Rest of India, given their last two consecutive wins in the Irani Cup in 2018 and 2019.

On the other hand, the Rest of India have also been through a decent run of form in their last five appearances in the Irani Cup. They have registered three wins, while losing two times out of their last five Irani Cup games. Recently, they lost to the Ranji 2024 champions Mumbai last year, following three consecutive wins against Saurashtra, Madhya Pradesh, and Saurashtra again. Rajat Patidar-led side will also look forward to ending their losing run against Vidarbha in the Irani Cup.

Form Guide

VID: W W W W W

ROI: L W W W L

VID vs ROI Head-to-Head in First-Class Games

Vidarbha and the Rest of India have faced each other on two occasions in the Irani Cup, and the former has emerged victorious on both occasions, based on the first-innings lead. So, the Rest of India will aim to register their first win against Vidarbha in the Irani Cup, while the latter will be eyeing to continue their dominance.

Pitch and Weather

The Nagpur surface is firm with a veneer of grass early on, expected to turn from Day 2 afternoon.

The weather in Nagpur on Wednesday will be mostly cloudy, with thunderstorms to be expected. The temperatures will be hovering around 32 degrees Celsius.

Team News

Both teams, Vidarbha and the Rest of India, will look forward to fielding their best playing XI in India’s highly anticipated domestic competition, Irani Cup.

Vidarbha Probable XI:Atharva Taide, Dhruv Shorey, Aman Mokhade, Yash Rathod, Akshay Wadkar (C & WK), Harsh Dubey, Darshan Nalkande, Akshay Karnewar, Parth Rekhade, Yash Thakur, and Thakare.

Rest of India XI:Abhimanyu Easwaran, Ruturaj Gaikwad, Yash Dhull, Rajat Patidar (C), Shaikh Rashid, Ishan Kishan (WK), Tanush Kotian, Manav Suthar, Akash Deep, Khaleel Ahmed, and Gurnoor Brar.