RANJI TROPHY | More than 12,000 fans turn up for Kohli, force DDCA to open more gates

Virat Kohli's anticipated appearance in a Ranji Trophy match draws over 12,000 fans to Arun Jaitley Stadium.

A chorus of ‘Kohli, Kohli’ and ‘RCB, RCB’ began ringing outside the Arun Jaitley Stadium on Thursday morning, long before the first ball was bowled at 9.30 a.m. These chants have been heard many times before at international and IPL matches. But for a Ranji Trophy match between Delhi and Railways, this was uncharted territory.

Considering the anticipation around Virat Kohli’s elusive appearance in a domestic match, the Delhi & District Cricket Association (DDCA) had said in the build-up that the public would be allowed free entry into the North End stand through gate numbers 15 and 16.

This was besides the Old Club House stand that could be accessed through gate 6. At 9 a.m., the North End stand, which has a capacity of approximately 6,000, was nearly full. A few minutes later, the lower tier of the Bishan Singh Bedi stand filled up too, with the DDCA deciding to open the No. 17 and 18 gates owing to the feverish demand.

“Since PM Modi and other VIPs were paying floral tribute to Mahatma Gandhi at Rajghat nearby, the Deputy Commissioner of Police (DCP) asked us to allow the fans waiting outside to quickly get into the stadium. We opened the No. 17 and 18 gates,” DDCA secretary Ashok Sharma told The Hindu.

That Kohli didn’t bat on Thursday wouldn’t matter to the 12,000-plus fans who thronged the stadium in the heart of the city to show their adulation for the India star. They seemed happy to simply be in Kohli’s proximity, chanting his name all through the opening day of the contest.

At 10.34 a.m., into the 12th over of the Railways innings, a fan from the North End stand even managed to evade security and enter the outfield. He dashed straight towards Kohli at second slip, and touched his feet before being whisked away by a few security personnel.

“No, we were not expecting so many people,” said Delhi pacer Navdeep Saini at the end of the day’s play. “But yes, while entering the ground in the morning, the queue was so long that we sensed something like this.”