New Delhi, January 30 (UITV)- India’s star batsman Virat Kohli is playing for Delhi against Railways in the Elite Group D match of Ranji Trophy 2024-25 at Arun Jaitley Stadium in Delhi. This is a special occasion for Kohli, as he is playing in the Ranji Trophy after more than 12 years. A large number of fans have gathered to see Kohli at this prestigious stadium in Delhi and this is a historic comeback for him.
Virat Kohli has made his Ranji Trophy comeback at a time when according to the BCCI policy, Indian players need to increase their participation in domestic cricket. Kohli last played a Ranji Trophy match for Delhi in November 2012 against Uttar Pradesh in Ghaziabad. After this, Kohli focused only on international cricket, but now after almost 12 years he has decided to return to the Ranji Trophy.
Delhi won the toss in this match and decided to bowl first. Thus, Delhi fans were hoping that they would get the opportunity to see Virat Kohli bat. The Delhi team is currently under pressure to enter the Ranji Trophy knockouts. Delhi will have to achieve a complete win against Railways, but it will not work only with victory. Delhi will also have to rely on other results to get a place in the knockouts.
A strange incident also happened during the first day of the match on Thursday, January 30. A fan broke the security cordon and reached the field and tried to touch Virat Kohli’s feet. This incident has created a lot of stir on social media. In the video going viral on the internet, the fan can be seen running towards the slip and reaching Kohli. Soon after this, the security officials caught that fan. At the same time, Kohli also urged the security officials not to deal with the fan excessively strictly. This scene shows Kohli’s humility and his love for the fans.
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More than 15,000 fans were expected to come to the Arun Jaitley Stadium for this match of Virat Kohli. The DDCA (Delhi and District Cricket Association) had initially estimated that only about 10,000 spectators would come to the stadium, which would have been an unexpected number for the Ranji Trophy, but the craze of fans for Kohli increased so much that people started gathering outside the stadium from 3 am. More than 15,000 people were present inside and outside the stadium, who were waiting for Kohli to enter the field.
Virat Kohli is currently fielding in this match, as Delhi captain Ayush Badoni won the toss and decided to bowl first. At the time of writing the news, the score of Railways was 66/5. Delhi fans are hoping that Kohli will come to the field to bat soon. Delhi captain Ayush Badoni had already confirmed that Virat Kohli will bat at his regular fourth position, where he has been playing most of the time for the Indian team.
There is an excited atmosphere in the stadium regarding Kohli’s return. His playing in the Ranji Trophy is a big event not only for Delhi fans but also for the cricket world. His return also sends the message that all the major personalities of Indian cricket are participating in it, understanding the importance of domestic cricket. This can be a source of inspiration for those young players who dream of reaching the national team by performing well in domestic cricket.
The importance of Virat Kohli playing in the Ranji Trophy is not only big for him but also for Delhi. The result of this match can keep Delhi’s hopes of entering the knockouts of the Ranji Trophy alive if they win against Railways. However, the Delhi team will have to take care of the impact of not only the win but also other results.
With this game of Virat Kohli, cricket lovers have got to see that he has made his presence felt not only in international cricket but also in domestic cricket. This can be a new and important beginning of his cricket career.
The playing eleven of both the teams are as follows-
Delhi: Ayush Badoni (captain), Pranav Rajvanshi (wicketkeeper), Virat Kohli, Sanat Sangwan, Arpit Rana, Yash Dhul, Sumit Mathur, Navdeep Saini, Shivam Sharma, Mani Grewal and Siddhant Sharma.
Railways: Suraj Ahuja (captain), Upendra Yadav (wicketkeeper), Ankit Yadav, Vivek Singh, Mohammad Saif, Karn Sharma, Bhargav Merai, Ayan Chaudhary, Himanshu Sangwan, Kunal Yadav and Rahul Sharma.
