NEW DELHI: It’s 5 AM. Wrapped in thick jackets, mufflers, and woolen caps, hands tucked into pockets, Delhiites braved the biting cold for a chance to enter the Arun Jaitley Stadium. This wasn’t an international match. It wasn’t a World Cup clash. It wasn’t even the IPL. It was all about one man — Virat Kohli. After a decade, their local hero was set to play a Ranji Trophy match. His last appearance for Delhi came in 2012 against Uttar Pradesh. For Kohli, this wasn’t just a return—it was a homecoming.
Never in Ranji Trophy history had a domestic match witnessed a crowd of nearly 15,000. But this was Virat Kohli-mania, rewriting the script.
