Virat Kohli’s return to domestic cricket after a 12-year absence added a unique touch to Delhi’s 2024–25 Ranji Trophy match against Railways, which drew thousands of spectators to the Arun Jaitley Stadium. But when Railways pacer Himanshu Sangwan delivered a peach of a delivery that sent his off-stump reeling, Kohli’s eagerly awaited innings ended in sadness.
In his first few deliveries, Kohli appeared composed, but throughout his brief stint in the middle, the Railways pacers soon put him to the test. Specifically, Kunal Yadav gave him trouble twice outside off-stump, one with a short ball that beat his outside edge and another with a full delivery swinging in.
Even so, Virat Kohli was able to hit Sangwan with a four in a row.
On the very next ball, though, the right-arm pacer hit a fantastic length delivery that smashed into the off stump after slipping through the space between the bat and pad. Sangwan erupted into a flaming jubilation as the batter performed a cartwheeling stunt. As Delhi struggled at 86/3, the crowd, which had been roaring seconds earlier, fell hushed as Kohli walked back for just 6 runs.
Harish Sangwan Knocked Out Virat King Kohli , At The Score of 6 (Full Crowd Reaction + Celebration) #ViratKohli𓃵 | #ViratKohli pic.twitter.com/QBHLRfsLKb
— 𝐒𝐑𝐈𝐉𝐀𝐍 🇮🇹 (@LegendDhonii) January 31, 2025
Sumit Mathur and Navdeep Saini each took three wickets as the hosts, while Siddhant Sharma and Money Grewal both contributed two wickets. Meanwhile, Delhi chose to bowl first and held Railways to 241 at the start of the match.
Delhi finished the first day at 41/1, with Yash Dhull and Sanat Sangwan at the crease. The Delhi hitters struggled on the second day, as the top four batsmen left early. The side was 132 runs behind with a score of 109/4 after 32 overs.