Virat Kohli’s return to the Ranji Trophy after 12 years and three months lasted for 15 balls after Railways seamer Himanshu Sangwan, a ticket collector who worked at the New Delhi Railway Station got the big prize.
The euphoria around Kohli lasted 23 minutes as Sangwan sent his off-stump for a run. A dejected Kohli shook his head, stayed there for a fraction of a second, watched the clattered stumps, and slowly walked off to the dugout.
The dismissal disappointed the 10,000-strong crowd in the stadium and also the Delhi & District Cricket Association (DDCA), which opened all the gates of the Arun Jaitley Stadium to fans on Friday morning.
Day 2 of the fixture started with the chants of RCB, RCB after a padded-up Kohli walked out and sat in Delhi’s dugout near the boundary line.
The crowd celebrated every close call and edge of the overnight batters, Sanat Sangwan and Yash Dhull, hoping one of them would get out, which would have brought Kohli to the crease.
Dhull and Sangwan batted for 12 overs in the morning before the first big moment of the day came. Rahul Sharma pinned Dhull for 32 and the crowd erupted in joy.
Kohli was greeted with a huge roar after Dhull’s dismissal. The crowd at the Arun Jaitley Stadium was waiting for this moment for the past three days. The administrators were busy having one meeting after another to get everything right and the broadcasters had built up the match for this moment.
All eyes were on Kohli and he opened his account on the fifth ball with a gentle tap at the short cover.
Kohli did not look comfortable even for one moment, however. Sangwan may have gotten the wicket but Kunal Yadav troubled Kohli the most with the movement and bounce.
In the third ball of the 27th over of Delhi’s innings, Kohli’s outside edge was beaten twice by Yadav. It was the sixth stump line, which has been Kohli’s weakness. The Railways’ seamer exploited it again. The next ball, the ball was pitched around the fifth stump line and Kohli was beaten again. Yadav kept luring Kohli into playing a drive.
In the following over, Sangwan attacked Kohli’s stumps. The former Indian captain, who was batting inside the crease looked frustrated with the lack of pace from Sangwan. After watching a couple of balls, he walked down and played a powerful straight drive down the ground for a boundary. It was more of an angry shot from Kohli rather than a shot of authority. From the stands, though, it elicited more chants of ‘Kohli, Kohli!’
It was the next ball which Sangwan probably will never forget. It was on full length, just outside the off-stump. Kohli, who was batting outside the crease, looked to dominate Sangwan and went for a drive. His attempted shot opened up a gap between bat and pad and the ball went through it.
Sangwan celebrated like he should. It was a memorable wicket for the boy from Najafgarh. The celebration also deserted the crowd at Kotla, who like Kohli started their slow walk outside the stadium.
Stay updated with the latest sports news across Cricket, Football, Chess, and more. Catch all the action with real-time live cricket score updates and in-depth coverage of ongoing matches.
