Vidarbha vs Rest of India, IC2, Today Match Prediction 01 October 2025

VDB vs REI Match Prediction & Analysis

Vidarbha, the two-time Irani Cup champions, will be eying a third title win as they take on Rest of India at the Vidarbha Cricket Association Stadium in Nagpur.

Irani Cup, a one-off match between the winners of the Ranji Trophy and the Rest of India, has been around since 1960, with Rest of India winning 30 titles to date.

Mumbai ranks second with 13 titles, while Vidarbha won two consecutive titles in the 2017-18 and 2018-19 seasons. Just like their recent Ranji Trophy final win, Vidarbha won their Irani Cup titles courtesy of first innings lead, as both the matches had ended in a draw.

Rajat Patidar leads a strong Rest of India side in this match. Ishan Kishan, Ruturaj Gaikwad, and Abhimanyu Easwaran are some of the big names in the batting department in this squad.

Vidarbha, on the other hand, will be missing their key player responsible for their Ranji Trophy win, Karun Nair. However, Danish Malewar is part of the squad and will be a crucial figure in the middle order.

RECENT PERFORMANCE

VDB

L W W L L

KTA

348/6 in 50.0 6.96

VHT

Karnataka beat Vidarbha by 36 runs 18 Jan 2025

VDB

312/10 in 48.2 6.46

VDB

380/3 in 50.0 7.6

VHT

Vidarbha beat Maharashtra by 69 runs 16 Jan 2025

MHA

311/7 in 50.0 6.22

VDB

292/1 in 43.3 6.71

VHT

Vidarbha Won By 9 wickets 12 Jan 2025

RJS

291/8 in 50.0 5.82

MCA

224/4 in 19.2 11.59

SMAT

Mumbai beat Vidarbha by 6 wickets

11 Dec 2024

VDB

221/6 in 20.0 11.05

VDB

173/10 in 44.5 3.86

VHT

Karnataka beat Vidarbha by 7 wickets

11 Dec 2023

KTA

177/2 in 40.3 4.37

REI

HEAD TO HEAD

TEAMS PREVIEW

Vidarbha Preview

Vidarbha have emerged as champions in both their appearances in the Irani Cup so far. Skipper Akshay Wadkar will back his men to lead Vidarbha to their third-ever title of the competition.

They are up against a strong Rest of India squad that features some of the best players India has to offer. The absence of Karun Nair will surely affect their middle order as they face a strong bowling attack in this game.

Darshan Nalkande and Danish Malewar will be the key players in the middle order to watch out for. It will be up to these two players to lead the fight after the top order batters are back in the hut.

Malewar and Yash Rathod were pretty impressive in the middle and lower middle order, the last time they played at this venue against Mumbai in the Ranji Trophy semi-final.

Atharva Taide and Dhruv Shorey hold the key to a strong start as openers, while skipper Akshay Wadkar could add crucial runs in the lower order to ensure that Vidarbha take a first-innings lead that would put them in a strong position in the match.

In the bowling attack, all-rounders Darshan Nalkande and Harsh Dubey are the key wicket-takers to watch out for. Dubey picked a fifer in the second innings of the semi-final, while left-arm orthodox bowler Parth Rekhade was the top bowler in the first innings with a four-fer.

Vidarbha Predicted Playing XI:

Atharva Taide, Dhruv Shorey, Parth Rekhade, Danish Malewar, Aman Mokhade, Yash Rathod, Akshay Wadkar (c & wk), Harsh Dubey, Darshan Nalkande, Yash Thakur, Nachiket Bhute

Vidarbha Actual Playing XI:

Yash Rathod, Aman Mokhade, Dhruv Shorey, Atharva Taide, Danish Malewar, Harsh Dubey, Darshan Nalkande, Akshay Wadkar, Parth Rekhade, Aditya Thakare, Yash Thakur

Rest of India Preview

The young guns will be leading the Rest of India. The squad features some promising names like Yash Dhull, Abhimanyu Easwaran, and skipper Rajat Patidar.

The batting lineup is solid with no dearth of talent at any position. Wicket-keeper batsman Ishan Kishan has also made it to the squad and will play a key role in the middle order.

He’s got the experience and is a clean hitter of the ball. Not known for his batting in the red-ball format, the southpaw is still a dangerous player who can accelerate the flow of runs at a crucial point in the game.

Rest of India have three bowling all-rounders, including Anshul Kamboj, the medium pacer who made his India debut on the tour of England recently. In the bowling department, the likes of Akash Deep and Khaleel Ahmed will pose a tough challenge to Vidarbha’s top order.

Both these pacers can move the ball both ways and trouble the batters early on in the innings. In the spin department, Manav Suthar and all-rounder Tanush Kotian will be the ones to watch out for. Overall, it is a solid-looking squad that ticks all the right boxes.

Rest of India Predicted Playing XI:

Abhimanyu Easwaran, Yash Dhull, Ruturaj Gaikwad, Rajat Patidar (c), Ishan Kishan, Aryan Juyal, Tanush Kotian, Manav Suthar, Akash Deep, Khaleel Ahmed, Anshul Kamboj

Rest of India Actual Playing XI:

Abhimanyu Easwaran, Yash Dhull, Rajat Patidar, Ruturaj Gaikwad, Anshul Kamboj, Saransh Jain, Aryan Juyal, Ishan Kishan, Akash Deep, Gurnoor Brar, Manav Suthar

PITCH AND WEATHER CONDITIONS

Weather Conditions

The weather forecast isn’t great for the Test. There will be heavy thunderstorms and light rain at different hours during the first two days of the match, followed by scattered thunderstorms on the final two days. As such, a draw is a very likely outcome in this game.

VDB vs REI Pitch Report

It is a decent wicket at the Vidarbha Cricket Association Stadium in Nagpur that offers plenty of help for the batters on the first couple of days. The spinners will also find some purchase out of the surface, and as the game progresses, the contest between bat and ball will get more even. The average first innings score in the last 3 Tests played here is 359 runs. We reckon anything over 375 will be a highly competitive first innings score on this ground.

Toss: To Bowl

Teams batting first have won 5 of the 7 matches of the Ranji Trophy played at this venue, while the other two games ended in a draw. Considering the conditions at this venue and the batting strengths of both squads, we reckon batting first will be the preferred choice in this match.