Crowd turns up for Kohli, Delhi dazzles as a team
Kohli’s return is part of a broader effort to rein in the superstar culture, but on this day, Delhi was there for its superstar
New Delhi: Neither a working Thursday morning nor the laze of the winters could prevent the crowd from building at the Arun Jaitley stadium. It had been a while since a domestic game had brought thousands to the stands, but it had become evident in the last couple of days that this was far from being just another match. It was the return of Delhi’s own Virat Kohli, after all.
In what is now a rare sight in domestic cricket, the crowd poured in, chanting his name (and RCB’s), eager for a glimpse of their hometown hero in Ranji Trophy whites.
Kohli’s return may have been prompted by the recent struggles of Indian stars on the international stage and a broader effort to rein in cricket’s superstar culture, but on this day, under the golden sun, Delhi was there for its superstar.
This was Kohli, back where it all began, ruling his kingdom. It wasn’t just locals that flocked to the kilometre-long queues at the gates but loyalists from cities in Uttar Pradesh and Haryana too.
At the toss, the crowd’s excitement was put on hold as Delhi skipper Ayush Badoni opted to bowl first against Railways, prompting a longer wait to watch Kohli bat. The decision proved to be effective as the Delhi seamers dismantled Railways’ top four sent back to pavilion in the first session.
The team got off to a shaky start losing Vivek Singh (0 runs off 14) and Anchit Yadav (7 off 9) early to Siddhant Sharma and Navdeep Saini respectively. Skipper Suraj Ahuja (14 off 14) showed some intent but was dismissed by Siddhant.
Mohammad Saif (24 off 54) played a steady knock with 24 off 54 and B Merai was out for nought but by lunch, the Railways were struggling at 87/5.
It was a resilient 95 off 177 by wicket-keeper batter Upendra Yadav that anchored the innings with two crucial partnerships. He first combined with Karn Sharma (50) for a 104-run stand off 199 balls, stabilising the innings.
Saini, who bowled a total of 18 overs in the day, came into his own and was on a hat-trick at one point. But after a period of lull for Delhi when the wicket had slowed down, Saini, with inputs from Badoni and Kohli, figured that bouncers were the way to go.
He broke the stand, dismissing Sharma just as Railways looked set to start putting the pressure back on Delhi.
Yadav, then, combined with Himanshu Sangwan (29) who launched a counter-attack against spinner Shivam Sharma. On the first ball of the 66th over, Yadav thought he could clear the ropes but was dismissed by Sumit Mathur just five runs short of a well-deserved century. Mathur cleaned up the tail, taking the final three wickets, as Railways were bowled out for 241 in 67.4 overs.
The top-performers for both sides acknowledged the crowd that had turned up but also the added motivation that Kohli brought with him.
With Delhi already losing an early wicket in Arpit Rana, Kohli is set to take center stage tomorrow – batting at No 4 -- ready to ignite the Delhi crowd that turned up in anticipation. The crowd, which was already a mind-boggling 12000, is expected to be even bigger on Day 2 of the match.
Through it all, Kohli was in his element, like a showman who feeds off the crowd. Still a master orchestrator, he encouraged the crowd and urged them to cheer louder, to rally behind the players and revel in the game... just as he does on the international stage.
“It’s a big deal for us. Even for me, despite having played with him before,” his team-mate Saini told reporters at Day 1 stumps. “Playing with him, sharing the dressing room with him is such a great feeling. Looking at his energy, everyone automatically feels compelled to match his energy.”
“Be it while batting, fielding or in the gym, the effort and intensity is at 110%. If he can do this at such a high level with such high intensity, we just start to follow it too,” he added.
The Railways have plans in place for him when bats and for when the crowd gets behind Kohli on Friday and his name reverberates again. Yadav recalled a similar moment while playing for his former team Uttar Pradesh in Kanpur in 2016, when Suresh Raina had drawn a crowd at Green Park stadium. But even that, he admitted, paled in comparison to how Delhi had turned up for Kohli.
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