Virat Kohli Ranji Trophy return: All-round Sumit Mathur helps Delhi hammer Railways

Ranji Trophy 2024-25: On Virat Kohli's return in the first-class competition after more than 12 years, Ayush Badoni's Delhi defeated Railways by an innings and 19 runs at the Arun Jaitley Stadium.

In Short

• Delhi beat Railways by an innings and 19 runs in New Delhi
• All-rounder Sumit Mathur won the Player of the Match award
• Kohli did not get a chance to bat again after scoring 6 in the first innings

Virat Kohli’s Ranji Trophy return after more than 12 years turned out to be a bittersweet affair. The 36-year-old Kohli failed to perform with the bat, but Delhi beat Railways by an innings and 19 runs in the Elite Group D match at the Arun Jaitley Stadium. Sumit Mathur won the Player of the Match award after his all-round show did not allow Railways much breathing space in front of a packed house in New Delhi.

Virat Kohli in Ranji Trophy Highlights

The 27-year-old Mathur couldn’t take a wicket in the second innings, but accounted for three scalps in the first innings, followed by an 86-run knock. Kohli, on the other hand, was hard done by from the personal viewpoint as he did not get a chance to make amends after getting out cheaply to fast bowler Himanshu Sangwan, who was the standout bowler for Railways with figures of 25.4-9-55-4.

After scoring only 241 runs in the first innings, Railways conceded a lead of 133 runs. Kohli scored six runs off 15 balls before Sangwan cleaned him up. But skipper Ayush Badoni’s 99 and Mathur’s half-century put Delhi in a position of command. The duo also put on 133 runs for the fifth wicket after Delhi once found themselves at 97 for four in 29.1 overs.

Shivam Sharma runs through Railways

Railways crumbled in their second innings, getting bowled out for 114 in 30.5 overs. Right-arm spinner Shivam Sharma finished with figures of 11-4-33-5, picking up the wickets of Suraj Ahuja, Vivek Singh, Mohammad Saif, Karn Sharma and Rahul Sharma. Saif and Ayan Chaudhari scored 31 and 30 respectively, but their efforts were not enough for Railways to make Delhi bat again.

Delhi, in the meantime, finished their group stage at fourth with 20 points and a net run rate of -0.081 thanks to wins in two out of seven games. As far as Kohli is concerned, the Delhi District Cricket Association (DDCA) felicitated him after the second day’s play. Rohan Jaitley, the DDCA President, presented Kohli with a memento and a shawl.

Back in November, Kohli scored a hundred in the second innings of the Perth Test against Pat Cummins’ Australia in the Border Gavaskar Trophy. But apart from that, he struggled to score runs, often getting out while poking at deliveries outside the off-stump. It remains to be seen if Kohli can return to his best.