Mumbai’s Vijay Hazare Trophy clash against Himachal Pradesh in Jaipur on Tuesday had no shortage of stardust. With Yashasvi Jaiswal, Shreyas Iyer, Suryakumar Yadav, Shivam Dube and Sarfaraz Khan in action, domestic cricket feels vibrant again, aided by the BCCI’s directive mandating the participation of international players.
All eyes, however, were on Shreyas, who returned to competitive cricket after recovering from an internal injury sustained in Australia last October. Leading Mumbai, he top-scored with a fluent 82 off 53 balls.
Dense fog delayed the start at the Jaipuria Vidyalaya Ground, eventually reducing the contest to 33 overs per side. Asked to bat first, Mumbai lost Jaiswal early, the opener departing for 15 off 18 balls. His partner Musheer Khan played a delightful knock, scoring 73 off 51 deliveries. Sarfaraz Khan, Musheer’s elder brother, provided late impetus with a brisk 21 off 10 balls before falling to Abhishek Kumar.
Suryakumar Yadav, India’s T20I captain and searching for consistency, failed to build on his start and was dismissed for 24 off 18 balls. Shivam Dube chipped in with 20.
Mumbai still finished with an imposing 299 for 9 in 33 overs, largely due to Shreyas’s authoritative innings. Though he enjoyed a couple of reprieves, the knock, studded with 10 fours and three sixes, underlined his readiness for the upcoming ODI series against New Zealand, beginning in Vadodara on January 11.
Shreyas had suffered a spleen laceration and internal bleeding while attempting an Alex Carey catch during India’s third ODI against Australia in Sydney on October 25. After reporting to the BCCI’s Centre of Excellence on December 25, he completed his rehabilitation and was cleared to play on Monday. His assured return is timely and encouraging news for India.
Elsewhere in Jaipur, at the KL Saini Ground, Shubman Gill endured a brief outing, managing just 11 off 12 balls for Punjab against Goa. India’s ODI captain will be keen to find rhythm quickly ahead of the New Zealand series.
In Ahmedabad, Devdutt Padikkal continued his golden run at the Gujarat College Ground, falling nine runs short of a century in Karnataka’s match against Rajasthan. Karnataka posted 324 for 7 before bowling out Rajasthan for 174. Padikkal has now amassed 605 runs, including four hundreds, from six innings, numbers that underline the form of his life.
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