Virat Kohli’s return to the Delhi side was not a happy moment for the veteran batter after he was dismissed for 6 in the Ranji Trophy contest against Railways on Friday (Jan 31). Playing at the Arun Jaitley Stadium in Delhi, Virat’s dismissal by Himanshu Sangwan left the crowd stunned, leading to a mass evacuation of the stadium. In other ties, Madhya Pradesh batters Harsh Gawli (258) and skipper Shubham Sharma (208) rewrote record books for the hosts while Mumbai are getting close to a win over minnows Meghalaya.

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Virat Kohli fails on return

Having been called out to bat in the opening session of Day 2, the former India captain was given a warm welcome by the crowd as fans thronged the stadium. However, Virat’s return was brief after he was dismissed for 6 in the first innings by Himanshu Sangwan. Having disappointed during the Australia tour, Kohli’s latest failure did not go well with the critics. 

Despite Virat’s poor form, Delhi managed to gain the upper hand as they closed the day on 334/7 and lead by 93 runs in the first innings. Skipper Ayush Badoni had a tough pill to swallow after he was dismissed for 99 in the second session of Day 2.

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MP run riot, Mumbai near win

In another Ranji Trophy contest at the Holkar Stadium in Indore between Madhya Pradesh and Uttar Pradesh, Harsh Gawli (258) and skipper Shubham Sharma (208) ran riot with the bat. The duo's double ton helped MP register their highest team total in the tournament’s history as they ended Day 2 on 670/7 and still have three wickets in hand. Himanshu Mantri (52) and Sagar Solanki (72) also scored fifties for MP.

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While in Mumbai, the defending champions are closing in on a massive win after they declared for 671/7. Three batters - Siddhesh Lad (145), Akash Anand (103) and Shams Mulani (unbeaten 100) completed their hundreds while Ajinkya Rahane (96), Shardul Thakur (84) and Suryansh Shedge (61) missed out on their personal feat.