There was pandemonium at the Arun Jaitley Stadium in New Delhi on Friday as Virat Kohli made his long-awaited return to Ranji Trophy. Former India captain Kohli was playing his first Ranji Trophy match in nearly 13 years, turning out for Delhi against Railways in a Round 7 clash but there was a major security breach in Day 1 of the match.
After Delhi captain Ayush Badoni won the toss and elected to bowl first, the Arun Jaitley Stadium witnessed a crowd of more than 10,000 people to watch Virat Kohli from close quarters. The Delhi & Districts Cricket Association had initially opened only the North Stand but were forced to open the West Stand for the public as well looking at the long queues waiting outside – stretching to almost 2 kilometres.
One fan breached the security at the ground and rushed in towards Kohli, who was fielding in the slips. The fan came and touched Kohli’s feet and it is a miracle that a mishap didn’t take place before he was escorted out.
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The Delhi Police had to deploy Para-military forces to manage the massive crowd at the venue. The DDCA had estimated a crowd of around 10,000 for Kohli’s much-anticipated homecoming—a staggering figure for a Ranji Trophy game. However, his magnetic pull exceeded even those expectations.
By the time play was set to begin at 9.30am, Kohli’s loyal supporters were already jostling to get inside. Initially, the DDCA opened the 6,000-capacity ‘Gautam Gambhir Stand’ for spectators. But as the crowd continued to swell, officials had no choice but to open the ‘Bishan Bedi Stand’, which accommodates around 14,000 people.
The frenzy escalated further as Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s cavalcade passed by the stadium at the same time, adding to the commotion. “I’ve been involved in Delhi cricket for over 30 years, but I’ve never seen anything like this for a Ranji Trophy match. It just shows Kohli’s unparalleled popularity,” an overwhelmed DDCA secretary, Ashok Sharma, was quoted as saying by PTI news agency.
“What made things more challenging was the timing—fans entering the stadium coincided with the PM’s VIP movement outside. As part of security protocols, the police instructed us to open another stand to manage the crowd,” he added.
With the ‘Gautam Gambhir Stand’ already packed, it didn’t take long for the lower tier of the ‘Bishan Bedi Stand’ to fill up, pushing the crowd count past 12,000 by the toss.
As Kohli took the field with his Delhi teammates, deafening chants of ‘Kohli, Kohli’ echoed across the stadium. Every move he made at second slip drew a roar from the stands.
