Delhi’s Arun Jaitley Stadium looked different on the opening day of the sixth round of the Ranji Trophy 2024-25 between Delhi and Railways, as Virat Kohli was making a return to the red-ball domestic tournament after nearly 12 years. In that previous clash, he faced Uttar Pradesh at the Ghaziabad.
Thousands of fans queued up to watch the superstar batter in an unprecedented rush that forced the administrations to make additional last-minute arrangements. Delhi’s cricket association had predicted a crowd of around 10000 for Virat Kohli’s comeback in domestic cricket.
It is a huge occasion to pull the crowd. Long before the start of the contest at 9:30 in the morning, the supporters of the right-handed batter were gathering to enter the stadiums where the entry is free for the domestic matches.
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At the initial stage, the DDCA opened the openly 6000 capacity ‘Gautam Gambhir Stand’ for the spectators but later sensed the crowd situation could go out of hand. The officials were forced to open the ‘Bishan Singh Bedi Stand’, which can accommodate around 11000 people.
“It shows Virat Kohli’s popularity is unmatched”- Ashok Sharma
The decision from Virat Kohli came after the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) made it mandatory for players to feature in domestic cricket for the national selection. Mumbai’s Rohit Sharma, Yashasvi Jaiswal, Delhi’s Rishabh Pant, and Saurashtra’s Ravindra Jadeja turned up for the game.
The DDCA secretary Ashok Sharma, who has been associated with Delhi cricket for a long time, was surprised at the overwhelming reception of the veteran batter. The 36-year-old managed just 93 runs at home against New Zealand in six innings at an average of 15.50 with the help of one half-century that came during the second innings of the opening Test at the M. Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bengaluru.
“I have been involved in Delhi cricket for more than 30 years, but I have not witnessed such scenes for a Ranji Trophy game. It just shows that Kohli’s popularity is unmatched.” The DDCA secretary said.
Virat Kohli celebrated the second innings century in the opening Test of the Border Gavaskar Trophy (BGT) 2024-25 at the Optus Stadium in Perth but repeated the same mistakes for the last four Tests. The right-handed batter finished with 190 runs in five Tests at an average of 23.75 with the help of 100*.
“What made it more challenging was that fans entering the stadium coincided with the VIP movement of PM Modi on the outside roads, and as part of his strict security protocol and to maintain order, we were instructed by the police to open another stand for the public.” Ashok Sharma expressed this during a discussion on PTI.
The ‘Gautam Gambhir Stand’ was already packed by the fans before it hardly took time to fill the lower tier of the Bedi Stand, taking the crowd to well past 12000 at the toss.
Virat Kohli missed the last round of the tournament due to a neck spasm that he picked during the fifth Test of the BGT at the Sydney Cricket Ground (SCG). He currently has smashed 9230 runs in 210 innings at an average of 46.85, with the help of 30 centuries and 31 half-centuries.
The known roars of Virat Kohli could be heard from the distance as the former Indian captain took the field and enjoyed their time in the middle. Delhi bundled out the Railways for 241 runs in the first innings and lost a wicket early with the bat.