Vijay Hazare Trophy 2025-26: Shreyas, Musheer guide Mumbai to quarterfinals

As Shreyas Iyer returned to competitive cricket after a long injury layoff, he made optimum use of two reprieves and went on to score a 53-ball-82 to guide Mumbai to the quarterfinals of the Vijay Hazare Trophy, with a seven-run win against Himachal Pradesh.

With dense fog leading to a delayed start, the Group C fixture was reduced to a 33-over-a-side affair. And, put in to bat in a must-win game, Shreyas and Musheer Khan (73, 51b, 8×4, 3×6) led Mumbai’s fightback after it lost Yashasvi Jaiswal and Sarfaraz Khan and guided the team to 299 for 9.

However, with Himachal batters Mayank Dagar, Ankush Bains and Pukhraj Mann putting up a fight with gritty fifties, Mumbai had nervy moments until the final over, where it had to defend 12 runs. But with the seasoned Shivam Dube (4 for 68) holding his nerves, Mumbai managed to pull off a narrow win and book a berth in the quarterfinals, along with Punjab, which defeated Goa on Tuesday.

Shreyas’ innings, however, was the highlight of the day.

As national selector RP Singh watched the proceedings at the Jaipuria Vidyalaya ground, Shreyas initially looked jittery as he was dropped twice at slips by Innesh Mahajan.

But the stand-in Mumbai captain backed himself and regained his momentum. While he forged an 82-run partnership for the third wicket with Musheer, Shreyas targetted the left-arm spinners, scoring 27 and 22 runs respectively off Dagar and Kushal Pal, who claimed 3 for 52.

With the surface easing out, both Shreyas and Musheer looked set, before the latter was caught at covers by Dagar off Pal. However, Shreyas rebuilt with Suryakumar Yadav, who entertained the crowd with a couple of sixes and a four, before falling to Pal.

With an enviably strong batting line-up, Shivam Dube and Sairaj Patil’s cameos ensured that Mumbai did not lose the plot despite Shreyas missing out on a ton, after being caught at mid-wicket off a Pal delivery.

Chasing a tall total, Himachal lost a couple of early wickets, but it fought back with Dagar and Bains adding 110 runs for the third wicket. However, losing wickets in clusters, Himachal eventually fell short, despite Amanpreet Singh’s 21-ball-41 cameo.

Published on Jan 06, 2026