Returning to action nearly 10 weeks after an unfortunate rib injury in Sydney, India’s ODI vice-captain Shreyas Iyer scored an explosive half-century while leading Mumbai against Himachal Pradesh in the Vijay Hazare Trophy 2025-26 clash on January 6 in Jaipur.
Iyer made the most of early reprieve in the slips. He started slowly but soon shifted gears and dominated the proceedings with his 53-ball 82.
Iyer walked out to bat in the eighth over after the wickets of Yashasvi Jaiswal and Sarfaraz Khan. Iyer shared an 82-run partnership with Musheer Khan who scored 73 runs from 51 balls, including eight fours and three sixes.
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The 31-year-old hit Kushal Pal for two sixes and Vaibhav Arora for one during his stay at the crease. He hit left-arm spinner Mayank Dagar for five fours. The middle-order batter shared a 65-run partnership for the fourth wicket with India’s T20I captain Suryakumar Yadav. He reached his fifty from 36 balls, his 42nd in List A cricket.
Pal dismissed Suryakumar in the 24th over who scored 24 runs from 18 balls, featuring a four and two sixes. A couple of overs later, Iyer was dismissed by left-arm spinner Pal as well. He was caught at mid-wicket by Amanpreet Singh and missed a chance to score a century on comeback. When he departed, Mumbai were 221/5 in 25.5 overs.
Why Iyer’s comeback game was delayed?
Earlier, Iyer’s return was delayed due to dense fog in Jaipur. The Mumbai-Himachal Pradesh contest was reduced to 33 overs per side. The match between Punjab and Goa was delayed in Jaipur as well.
Later, cameos from Shivam Dube (15-ball 20), Hardik Tamore (17-ball 19 not out) and Sairaj Patil (9-ball 25) helped Mumbai post 299/9 in 33 overs.
Leading in injured Thakur's absence
Iyer was named captain on comeback as Shardul Thakur was ruled out of the tournament due to calf injury. The two league stage games will work as a match fitness test for Iyer whose participation in the ODI series against New Zealand was subject to fitness. The ODI series begins on January 11.