Shreyas Iyer stepped onto a cricket field for the first time in a competitive game since October on Tuesday and marked his comeback by leading Mumbai to a win over Himachal Pradesh in a Group C clash of the 2025-26 Vijay Hazare Trophy clash in Jaipur.
The match was reduced to 33 overs per side after dense fog delayed the start of play, and the right-hander, who was captaining the side in Shardul Thakur’s absence, top-scored with 82 off 53 balls with 10 fours and three sixes, putting on critical stands of 82 and 65 runs with Musheer Khan and Suryakumar Yadav, respectively. The win sealed Mumbai’s quarter-final qualification with one round of matches to go.
All three maximums came on the off-side, two of which were off the left-arm spinner Kushal Pal. His exploits helped Mumbai set Himachal Pradesh a 300-run target, and while the opposition put in a spirited fight with identical scores of 64 from Pukhraj Mann and Mayank Dagar, Mumbai prevailed by seven runs. Iyer will play another round of matches against Punjab on January 8.
Mumbai’s captain Shreyas Iyer plays a shot during the Vijay Hazare Trophy 2025-26 cricket match between Mumbai and Himachal Pradesh, at Jaipuria Vidyalaya Ground, in Jaipur, Tuesday, Jan. 6, 2026. (PTI Photo)
Brief Scores: Mumbai 299/9 in 33 overs (Iyer 82, Musheer 73; Arora 3/63) beat Himachal Pradesh 292 all out in 32.4 overs (Mann 64, Dagar 64; Dube 4/68) by seven runs.
Aman leads Hyderabad’s charge
An explosive 200 off 154 balls, filled with 12 fours and 13 sixes, from opener Aman Rao helped Hyderabad beat Bengal by 107 runs in a Group B clash at the Niranjan Shah Stadium in Rajkot. The right-hander’s exploits took his side to an imposing 352/7 after 50 overs, and despite a late effort from Shahbaz Ahmed, who made 108 off 113 balls, Bengal fell short by a big margin. Mohammed Siraj was the pick of the Hyderabad bowlers, claiming 4/58 in 10 overs, which included two scalps in the powerplay.
Brief Scores: Hyderabad 352/7 in 50 overs (Rao 200, Gahlaut Singh 65; Shami 3/70) beat Bengal 245 in 44.4 overs (Shahbaz 108, Majumdar 59; Siraj 4/58) by 107 runs.
Mokhade’s 147 goes in vain
Aman Mokhade maintained his excellent batting form with a 117-ball 147, but could not prevent Vidarbha from going down to Uttar Pradesh by 54 runs in a Group B clash in Rajkot on Tuesday. Chasing 286 runs for victory, Mokhade was assisted by the wicketkeeper batter Akshay Wadkar, who made 51 off 47 balls, but the former’s dismissal in the 40th over derailed the chase for Vidarbha.
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Kuldeep Yadav was the pick of the UP bowlers, taking 3/52 in 10 overs, and was supported by Vipraj Nigam, who took 2/56.
Brief Scores: Uttar Pradesh 339/5 in 50 overs (Abhishek Goswami 103, Garg 67) beat Vidarbha 285/9 in 50 overs (Mokhade 147, Wadkar 51; Kuldeep 3/52) by 54 runs.
Other scores
Group A: In Ahmedabad: Madhya Pradesh 277 all out in 48.4 overs lost to Jharkhand 278/8 in 47.4 overs by 3 wickets.
Group B: In Rajkot: Baroda 332 all out in 50 overs beat 256 all out in 45.3 overs by 76 runs.
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Group C: in Jaipur: Goa 211 all out in 33.3 overs lost to Punjab 212/4 in 35 overs by six wickets
Group D: In Bengaluru: Gujarat 333/6 in 50 overs beat Odisha 100 all out in 28.1 overs by 233 runs.
