NEW DELHI: In what was rare for a Ranji Trophy match, thousands of people of all ages gathered around Delhi’s Feroz Shah Kotla ground hours before play began for the first day of the Elite Group D match between Railways and Delhi. As the gates of the Arun Jaitley Stadium opened around 9 am, the spectators thronged the stands and cheered, and screamed, and danced. All for one man – Virat Kohli.
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The crowd waited all day, hoping to see their hero at the crease. However, the day ended in disappointment for them after he didn’t come out to bat as Delhi lost only one wicket, of opener Harshit Rana, in their 10 overs of batting with Yash Dhull and Sanat Sangwan ensuring no further damage against Railways.
However, Virat will come out to bat on the second day if and when Delhi loses another wicket. But Railways’ Upendra Yadav, who was the top scorer for his team, scoring 95, said that they have “made plans” for Kohli.
“We had a discussion with our bowlers regarding him (Kohli) and we have made some plans for him, which I cannot tell right now,” Upendra said while talking to the media after the day’s play.
“We have asked our bowlers to not get carried away, and bowl around the good-length area. A good bowl is as good for Virat bhaiya as it is for any other batter. If you bowl in good areas, you will get the results,” Upendra added.
Upendra missed his well-deserved hundred, which could have been his third of the season, by just 5 runs and lost his wicket while trying to hit a six over long-on to left-arm orthodox spinner, Sumit Mathur. When asked about his dismissal, Upendra said, “I did not play it (the shot) because I was tired. I played it because I had confidence that I could clear the fielder.”
Upendra, with his resolute defence and judicious stroke play, was at the forefront of Railways’ recovery from 66-5 after Delhi’s fast bowlers’ early onslaught and built a 104-run partnership for the sixth wicket with Karn Sharma.
Upendra was the highest scorer for the Railways (95 off 177 deliveries), followed by Karn Sharma (50 off 105), and helped his team reach a respectable total of 241.
Earlier in the day, Kohli’s presence on the field led to an extraordinary turnout for a Ranji Trophy match, unlike anything seen in recent years.
The Delhi and District Cricket Association (DDCA) had estimated a crowd of around 10,000 for Kohli’s much-anticipated homecoming — an unprecedented figure for a domestic fixture. However, his immense star power shattered those expectations.
Even before play began at 9:30 am, thousands of fans were eagerly pushing to enter the stadium, where entry remains free for domestic matches. Initially, the DDCA opened the 6,000-capacity ‘Gautam Gambhir stand’ for spectators, but as the crowd kept swelling, officials had no choice but to open the ‘Bishan Singh Bedi stand,’ which can accommodate around 11,000 people.