Virat Kohli’s return to the Ranji Trophy for Delhi didn’t go as planned. The 36-year-old Indian batter was dismissed for just 6 runs off 15 balls during the first innings of the match. Railways pacer Himanshu Sangwan bowled a great delivery that sent Kohli’s stump cartwheeling early in the innings. Kohli had earlier hit a brilliant straight drive for a boundary, but he tried to play the same shot again. Sangwan adjusted his length, deceiving Kohli and getting him out.
This dismissal left the fans, who had come in large numbers to watch their idol, disappointed. As soon as Kohli was out, many fans began leaving the stadium.
A huge crowd and high expectations
The Arun Jaitley Stadium was full of fans on the first day of Delhi’s Ranji Trophy match, all excited to see Virat Kohli play. Some fans were so eager that they started standing in line outside the stadium as early as 3 AM just to see him. During the day, Kohli kept talking to the crowd, keeping their excitement high, even though he got out early.
After Kohli’s quick dismissal, the focus shifted to his next chance to bat. Fans are now hoping that Kohli will perform well in his next turn and show his skills again.
Kohli’s recent form
Kohli came into this Ranji match after struggling with his batting in recent international games. He only scored one century and didn’t score any half-centuries in 10 Test matches last season. His only century was in the first Test of the Border-Gavaskar Trophy in Perth, but he couldn't keep that form and finished with less than 100 runs in the rest of the matches. Because of Kohli's poor form and the Indian team's overall struggles with batting, the BCCI decided to have international players, like Kohli, play in the Ranji Trophy.
Kohli trained with the Delhi Ranji team earlier this week and was the captain on Day 1 of the match. Fans are now hoping that Kohli will perform better in his next turn at the crease.