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In the first innings of his first Ranji Trophy match for Delhi after more than 12 years, Virat Kohli was clean bowled by Himanshu Sangwan.
Himanshu Sangwan takes Virat Kohli’s autograph on the ball that he used to dismiss him in Delhi-Railways Ranji Trophy match. (Picture Credit: Instagram/@himan.sangwan)
Virat Kohli played Delhi’s Ranji Trophy Elite Group D match against Railways at the Arun Jaitley Stadium in Delhi last week. In his first Ranji match after more than 12 years, Kohli, however, failed to do much with the bat and was sent back to the pavilion for six runs from 15 balls by Railways pacer Himanshu Sangwan.
Sangwan breached Kohli’s defence and shattered his stumps after getting hit for a four down the ground by the legendary batter on the previous delivery.
The former India captain didn’t get a chance to bat in the second innings as Railways suffered defeat in the match by an innings and 19 runs.
Following the conclusion of the Ranji Trophy match inside three days in Delhi, 29-year-old Sangwan met Kohli in the dressing room and took his autograph on the ball that he used to take his wicket. The clip of Sangwan’s fan moment with Kohli is now going viral on the internet.
The star fast bowler, who finished the match with figures of 4 for 55 in 25.4 overs, while speaking to the Indian Express, said that when he gave the ball to Kohli to sign, he asked if that was the same ball he used to get him out.
“When I gave him (Kohli) the ball to sign it, he asked, ‘Is this the same ball from which you got me out? Kya gend tha yaar maza aa gaya (what a beautiful delivery it was)”, Sangwan said.
During the match, Kohli got to know that Sangwan had played for Delhi at the U19 level, and he, the star batter, complimented his bowling by saying, “Kaafi teekhe bowler ho (You are a good bowler). Keep working hard. Best wishes for your future.”
Fans left disappointed
More than 10,000 fans came to watch Kohli bat in the first two days of the Ranji Trophy match at Arun Jaitley Stadium, but they were left disappointed by Kohli’s performance. Kohli came out to bat at No. 4 for the Ayush Badoni-led side and only scored one four.
The former India captain will next be seen in action on Thursday, February 6, during the first ODI of the three-match series between India and England. The series opener is scheduled to take place at Vidarbha Cricket Association Stadium in Nagpur.
