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When will Virat Kohli bat in Delhi vs Railways Ranji Trophy match today?

With Delhi opting to bowl first, Virat Kohli is expected not before the end of second session today given he has been slotted to bat at number 4.

Virat Kohli

New Delhi: Delhi's player Virat Kohli during a training session ahead of the Ranji Trophy 2024-25 cricket match between Delhi and Railways, at the Arun Jaitley Stadium, in New Delhi, Tuesday, Jan. 28, 2025. (Photo: PTI)

Anish Kumar New Delhi

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Star India batter Virat Kohli donned the Delhi jersey for the first time in 13 years, as he took the field for the team's final league stage Ranji Trophy clash against Railways at Arun Jaitley Stadium on Thursday.  Delhi captain Ayush Badoni won the toss and asked Railways to bat first. 
 
With Delhi opting to bowl first, Virat Kohli is expected not before the end of second session today given he has been slotted to bat at number 4. 
 
Railways were reduced to 21-3 inside seven overs in the first session.
 
For the first time in over a decade, Virat Kohli has stepped back onto the Ranji stage, trading the grandeur of international cricket for the raw, unfiltered battle of the domestic circuit. In a two-day training session with his Delhi teammates, led by young Ayush Badoni, Kohli immersed himself in the camaraderie of a squad where many players had grown up idolising him. The former Indian captain, often a lone warrior at the crease, now found himself among young, eager faces looking up to him—just as he had once admired the greats before him.
 
 
A battle against time and form 
Kohli’s return to Ranji is not just a ceremonial appearance—it is a mission. His Test form has been a shadow of his past dominance, plagued by inconsistency since 2020. In 39 Tests over four years, he has managed just 2,028 runs at an average of 30.72, with only three centuries. The struggles continued in the ICC World Test Championship 2023-25 cycle, where he ended with 751 runs in 14 matches at 32.65, scoring two centuries. The numbers from 2023 alone—417 runs in 10 Tests at a dismal 24.52—paint the picture of a champion seeking redemption.
 
The grind begins anew
  At the nets, Kohli was a man possessed, addressing every chink in his Test game with the meticulousness that once made him the world’s best. Whether it was tackling spin, mastering deliveries outside his off-stump, or refining his backfoot play, Kohli left no stone unturned. With head coach Sarandeep Singh by his side, every session was an intense effort to rebuild his fortress brick by brick.
 
The last Ranji memory 
The 36-year-old last played a Ranji Trophy match in November 2012 against Uttar Pradesh. It was an unremarkable outing, with scores of 14 and 42—both dismissals coming at the hands of a young Bhuvneshwar Kumar. Much has changed since then, both for Kohli and for Indian cricket, but the hunger that fuels him remains the same.
 
A journey that began in Ranji
  Kohli’s tryst with Ranji cricket began in the 2006-07 season. A young, ambitious batter, he tallied 257 runs at an average of 36.71, with a best of 90. The following season saw improvement—373 runs at 53.28, with two centuries—but inconsistency lingered.
 
It was in 2009-10 that Kohli truly announced himself. His 374 runs at a staggering 93.50 average, followed by 339 runs at 56.50 in 2010-11, cemented his reputation. Those years, coupled with his exploits in white-ball cricket, earned him the prized Test cap in 2011, marking the beginning of an era.
 
Full circle: The legend and the proving ground
  Now, 23 matches and 1,573 Ranji runs later, Kohli returns—not as the prodigy of Delhi but as one of the greatest batters of his generation. This is more than just a return to domestic cricket; it is a statement. Kohli, the modern-day colossus, is willing to go back to the trenches, to the place where it all began, in search of one last great chapter in his Test career.
 

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First Published: Jan 30 2025 | 10:13 AM IST

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