Star India batter Virat Kohli turned his return to Vijay Hazare Trophy after 15 years into a grand spectacle, cracking a hundred that guided Delhi to a four-wicket victory over Andhra in their opening Group D match here on Wednesday. Kohli (131, 101 balls) was ably supported by Nitish Rana (77, 55b) and Priyansh Arya (74, 44b) as Delhi scaled down a challenging target of 299 in 37.4 overs.
Bhui scores century too
Ricky Bhui too made a century (122) to lead Andhra to 298 for eight, but that remained a bright footnote once Kohli unleashed his genius. Pacer Simarjeet Singh (5-54) too played his part in Delhi’s win with a persistent spell on a rather flat pitch. The 37-year-old was in pristine touch once he essayed a brilliant straight drive off his India teammate Nitish Reddy in the third ball he faced, sending the ball flying to the fence.
Several other trademark shots flowed as Kohli went past 50 in 39 balls and later 100 in 83 balls with a four off pacer Shiva Narasimha Raju. It was his 58th List A — 50-over format, which encompasses both domestic and international matches — hundred and also saw him become the fastest batter to 16,000 runs in 330 innings, well ahead of second-placed Sachin Tendulkar (391 innings). Kohli formed handy stands with Arya (113 runs for second wicket) and Rana (160 runs for third wicket) as Delhi mowed down the target.
Padikkal trumps Kishan ton
Meanwhile, Ishan Kishan’s 39-ball 125 was eclipsed by Devdutt Padikkal’s 147 as defending champions Karnataka beat Jharkhand by five wickets in their Vijay Hazare Trophy match. In a high-scoring Group A tie, Karnataka romped home with 15 balls and five wickets to spare, scoring 413 in reply to Jharkhand’s 412-9.
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