Vijay Hazare Trophy 2025-26: Shreyas Iyer slams 82 on comeback, Suryakumar struggles as Mumbai post 299

Round six of the Vijay Hazare Trophy is underway, with several matches in Jaipur delayed due to dense fog. While games at other venues began on schedule, the Elite Group C fixture between Mumbai and Himachal Pradesh at the Jaipuria Vidyalaya Ground was affected, resulting in a delayed start. Owing to the interruption, the match was reduced to 33 overs per side.

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Mumbai fielded a star-studded lineup featuring India’s T20I captain, Suryakumar Yadav, and Shreyas Iyer, the vice-captain of India’s ODI squad for the upcoming New Zealand series.

Batting first, Mumbai posted an imposing 299/9 in their allotted 33 overs. Shreyas Iyer led the charge on his return to domestic cricket, scoring a brisk 82 off 53 balls, an innings that included 10 boundaries and three sixes. The Mumbai skipper looked in control and anchored the innings after being cleared by the National Cricket Academy (NCA) Centre of Excellence, Bengalure, having recovered from a spleen injury sustained in October last year. His knock served as a strong statement of fitness ahead of the ODI series against New Zealand, scheduled to begin on January 11.

Young Musheer Khan also impressed with a fluent half-century, scoring 73 off 51 deliveries, while Yashasvi Jaiswal was dismissed for 15 off 18 balls by pacer Vaibhav Arora.

Suryakumar Yadav, however, failed to capitalise on the platform, managing 24 off 18 balls before being dismissed. Shivam Dube added a quick 20, but Mumbai lost wickets at regular intervals towards the end of the innings.

For Himachal Pradesh, Kushal Pal picked up key wickets of Suryakumar Yadav, Shreyas Iyer and Musheer Khan.

Suryakumar’s modest outing comes amid a prolonged lean patch in white-ball cricket. The Indian skipper has struggled for form in T20s, managing just 218 runs across 19 innings in 2025 at a below-par strike rate of 123.16. Despite the dip, former Australia captain Ricky Ponting recently backed Yadav to rediscover his best ahead of the T20 World Cup.

“That’s as big a surprise for me, just looking at his recent form. He’s been such a solid and consistent contributor for India in T20 cricket for a long time and just hasn’t been able to find it of late,” Ponting told the ICC. “He’s an interesting one because when I’ve seen him play his best, he’s taken six, eight or 10 balls to get going and then just lets it all go.”

Vijay hazare trophy 2025-26: 1st innings scores

Haryana 324 all out vs Andhra
Railways 179 all out vs Delhi
Uttar Pradesh 339/5 vs Vidarbha
Pondicherry 247 all out vs Kerala
Madhya Pradesh 277 all out vs Jharkhand
Saurashtra 349/5 vs Services
Karnataka 324/7 vs Rajasthan
Gujarat 333/6 vs Odisha
Assam 284/7 vs Chandigarh
Hyderabad 352/5 vs Bengal
Baroda 332 all out vs J&K
Tamil Nadu 259/6 vs Tripura