Broken phones, lost slippers and shoes lying around the Feroz Shah Kotla before a pitch invader breached security to touch Virat Kohli’s feet were some of the unprecedented scenes that summed up the iconic batter’s return to domestic cricket after more than 12 years.
The former India skipper’s much-anticipated return to domestic cricket created a surreal atmosphere at the Kotla that houses the Arun Jaitley Stadium, witnessing unprecedented scenes on the opening day of the inconsequential Ranji Trophy contest between Delhi and the Railways.
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On a chilly and foggy Thursday morning, thousands lined up outside the stadium for hours to make their way inside, creating an electrifying atmosphere, rarely seen in domestic games. As the gates to the stadium opened up, a stampede-like situation emerged near Gate 17 with broken phones, lost slippers and shoes lying around, and an unfortunate incident, which left a police bike with considerable damage.
The Delhi & District Cricket Association (DDCA) had anticipated around 10,000 fans for Kohli’s return. However, as the morning progressed, the numbers exceeded their expectations. The officials later confirmed that more than 15,000 fans were in attendance during the opening day.
Chants of “Kohli…Kohli” echoed through the stadium, electrifying the atmosphere as the local hero took the field. Amid the excitement, cheers of “RCB RCB” erupted, a nod to his unwavering loyalty to Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) since joining the IPL franchise in 2008 following his U19 World Cup triumph.
Once Delhi skipper Ayush Badoni elected to field, Kohli was spotted manning the slip cordon, amid loud cheers from the crowd. Acknowledging the support, the iconic cricketer occasionally turned back to respond to the cheers.
The excitement, however, reached a boiling point when an ardent Kohli fan ducked security, ran onto the field and touched Kohli’s feet before being whisked away by the security guards. The incident occurred during the 12th over, momentarily disrupting the match.
As the fan sprinted towards him, the crowd erupted in cheers. Security personnel rushed in to remove the intruder, but Kohli, ever composed, gestured for them to go easy on him. The dramatic moment summed up the fervour around Kohli’s first domestic appearance in more than a decade.
Despite the frenzy around Kohli’s return, Delhi’s bowlers maintained their focus, reducing Railways to 66/5. Railways recovered with half centuries from Upendra Yadav, who fell five shy of a century and veteran Karn Sharma to eventually reach 241.
For Delhi, Siddhant Sharma and Money Grewal claimed two wickets each early in the morning session while Navdeep Saini and Sumit Mathur emerged the pick of the bowlers with three wickets apiece.
In response, Delhi lost opener Arpit Rana cheaply, but Sanat Sangwan and Yash Dhull went back undefeated with the hosts reaching 41/1 at stumps, thus keeping the excitement of Kohli turning up at the crease alive for Friday.
