Virat Kohli’s long-awaited return to the Ranji Trophy drew thousands of fans to the Arun Jaitley Stadium as he made his first appearance in the first-class tournament after 12 years. The star batter represented Delhi against Railways in a match that saw an electrifying reception from the crowd.
Fans began gathering early in the morning to catch a glimpse of Kohli in action. However, the overwhelming crowd led to chaos. According to a Sportstak report, fans pushed and shoved each other, resulting in injuries. A police bike was damaged during the commotion. At least three people were hurt, including a security guard. DDCA security personnel and police officials provided medical aid near the entry gates. One injured fan required a leg bandage. Many fans lost their shoes as they scrambled to enter the venue.
Initially, only three gates were planned for entry, but additional gates were eventually opened to accommodate the fans. Despite these efforts, long queues formed outside Gates 16 and 17, with fans waiting over an hour before the gates were unlocked.
Despite the DDCA’s requirement for fans to carry a copy of their Aadhaar Card for identification, the security measures were overlooked in the chaos. Many fans rushed to photocopy centers near the stadium to prepare their documents. However, the identification was never checked, and confusion continued inside the venue. Several fans, including school and college students, left their bags near Gate 16 as instructed by security but faced difficulties retrieving them later.
Kohli made himself available for the first-class fixture after struggling during India's recent five-Test tour of Australia. He scored 190 runs in the series, averaging 23.75, with one century. Kohli will look to get some runs under his belt ahead of India’s five-Test tour of England later this year.
Kohli's last Ranji match was in 2012, when Delhi faced Uttar Pradesh. Despite scoring 14 and 43 runs, Delhi lost by six wickets.
Kohli will next return to international cricket in the ODI series against England, starting on February 6 in Nagpur. The series will serve as preparation for the Champions Trophy, which begins on February 19. India aims for its third Champions Trophy title after winning in 2002 and 2013. India finished as runners-up to Pakistan in the 2017 edition.
In the ongoing match, Delhi won the toss and elected to field first.
Delhi (Playing XI): Arpit Rana, Sanat Sangwan, Virat Kohli, Yash Dhull, Ayush Badoni(c), Pranav Rajuvanshi(w), Sumit Mathur, Shivam Sharma, Navdeep Saini, Money Grewal, Siddhant Sharma
Railways (Playing XI): Anchit Yadav, Vivek Singh, Suraj Ahuja(c), Upendra Yadav(w), Mohammad Saif, Bhargav Merai, Karn Sharma, Rahul Sharma, Himanshu Sangwan, Ayan Chaudhari, Kunal Yadav