Suryakumar Yadav ended his poor run with a fluent 70 for Mumbai against Haryana on day three of their Ranji Trophy quarterfinals at the Eden Gardens in Kolkata on Monday.

Yadav, who captains India in T20I, struggled to get runs in the recent series against England despite leading the home side to a 4-1 win. However, he put the bad memories behind him by forging a match-saving 129-run partnership with captain Ajinkya Rahane (88 not out).

Defending champions Mumbai will head into the penultimate day, leading by 292 runs, with Shivam Dube (30) joining his captain in the middle. Mumbai were 278/4 in 67 overs at stumps on day three. Rahane scored 10 boundaries, while Yadav’s inning comprised two sixes and eight fours.

Shardul Thakur was impressive at the start of the day's play as he claimed a fifer (6/58), while the spin duo, Shams Mulani and Tanush Kotian, claimed two wickets each as Mumbai dismissed Haryana for 301 to secure a handy 14-run lead.

Mumbai were 116/3 in response before Rahane and Yadav took charge. Yadav had failed to score a fifty in the last 14 innings. In the T20I series against England, he could only manage 28 runs from five innings (2, 0, 14, 12, 0). A 20 in the Vijay Hazare Trophy before the T20I series had been his highest total in 10 previous innings.

Several Indian stars played in the Ranji Trophy to rediscover their form. Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli and Rishabh Pant were some of the other big names. While neither of them managed to score big in first-class cricket, the domestic exposure seems to have helped Rohit Sharma regain his form. India’s 50-over captain smashed a brilliant 119 in India's 4-wicket win in the second ODI. Perhaps Suryakumar, too, will see an improvement on the international stage after his return to form in the Ranji.

Brief scores: Mumbai 315 and 278/4 in 67 overs (Ajinkya Rahane 88 not out, Suryakumar Yadav 70, Siddhesh Lad 43, Shivam Dube 30 not out) vs Haryana 301 in 84.5 overs (Ankit Kumar 136, Yashvardhan Dalal 36; Shardul Thakur 6/58). Stumps day three

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