India’s middle-order batter Shreyas Iyer made a commendable comeback from injury, scoring a fluent 82 runs off 53 balls for Mumbai against Himachal Pradesh at the Jaipuria Vidhyalaya Ground in the ongoing Vijay Hazare Trophy.
Iyer’s Impactful Return
Captaining the side due to Shardul Thakur’s injury that ruled him out of the tournament, Iyer faced a challenging situation with Mumbai at 55 for 2 after the early dismissals of Yashasvi Jaiswal and Sarfaraz Khan.
Iyer and Musheer Khan then added 82 runs off 54 balls, steadying the innings. Musheer scored a brisk 73 runs off 51 balls before his dismissal. Following that, Iyer formed a crucial 65-run partnership with Suryakumar Yadav in just 39 balls, helping Mumbai surpass the 200-run mark in the curtailed 33-over match, which started late due to dense fog.
Match Summary
Iyer fell in the 26th over, just 18 runs shy of a well-deserved century, having struck 10 fours and three sixes against Himachal Pradesh. His fighting innings helped Mumbai finish at 299/9 in 33 overs.
Future Prospects
Iyer has been named vice-captain of the India squad for the three-match ODI series against New Zealand, beginning in Vadodara on January 11. His inclusion, however, is subject to a fitness clearance after his performances in the Vijay Hazare Trophy for Mumbai.
If Iyer successfully clears his fitness tests, the Mumbai Cricket Association will need to appoint a new captain for the Vijay Hazare Trophy knockout matches, starting on January 12 at the BCCI Centre of Excellence Grounds in Bengaluru. Iyer was sidelined due to a serious spleen injury he sustained while diving to catch Australia’s wicketkeeper-batter Alex Carey during the third ODI at the Sydney Cricket Ground in October last year.