Delirious fans screamed in excitement at the mere mention of his name as Virat Kohli's unmatched aura dominated the Ranji Trophy fixture between Delhi and Railways in New Delhi on Thursday, triggering an unprecedented rush for seats in the stands that forced administrators to make additional last-minute arrangements. (More Cricket News)
The DDCA (Delhi and Districts Cricket Association) had projected a crowd of around 10,000 for Kohli's homecoming, which is unheard of for a Ranji Trophy game. But such was his magnet𒉰ic pull that even those lofty calculations went for a toss.
Long before t🅰he start of play at 9.30 am local time, the 36-year-old Kohli's loyal band of supporters were jostling to eℱnter the stadium where entry is free for domestic matches.
At first, the DDCA ♓opened the roughly 6,000-capacity 'Gautam Gambhir Stand' for spectators but sensing that the crowd situation could go out of hand, the officials were forced to open the 'Bishan Singh Bedi Stand' ꧋which can accommodate around 11,000 people.
"I ha𓆏ve never seen something like this in the Ranji Trophy. Even in my playing days, there was hardly anyone who made the effort to watch domestic cricket. It is just because of one man," a former India player present at the ground told PTI.
What added to the comm🐲otion was the movement of Prime Minister Narendra Modi's cavalcade past the ground at the same time.
"I have been involved in Delhi cricket for more than 30 years but I have not witnessed such scenes for a Ranji Trophy game. It just shows the Kohli's popularity is unmatched," an overwhelmed DDCA🅷 secretary Ashok Sharma told PTI.
"What made it more challenging was that fans entering the stadium coincided with the VIP movement of PM Modi on the outside roads and as part of his strict security protoco🦄l and to maintain order, we were instructed by the police to open ano༺ther stand for the public," he revealed.
The Delhi Police also issued a statement after some chaos outside the stadium, assuring that nothing untoward happened 𝓡in the melee.
"Additional gates were soon opened, easing the situation. No injuries were reported, and the situation is now under ꧃control," it said in a statement.
The last time a domestic match evoked such a response from the fans was when the great Sachin Tendulkar played his final first-cl𒆙ass game, for Mumbai, back in 2013 in the small town꧋ of Lahli in Haryana. That stadium, which did not have proper stands for spectators, witnessed a turnout of about 8,000, a massive number for the venue.
At the Arun Jaitley Stadium on Thursday, the 'Gautam Gambhir Stand' was already packed to the rafters and it hardly took time to fill the lower tier of the 'Bishan Bedi Stand', taking the crowd cou⛎nt well past 12,000 at the toss.
The deafening roars of "Kohli, Kohli" could be heard from a distance as the former India captain took the field with the rest of the Delh🍸i teammates who too were experienci🎃ng something special.
Their hopes of watching him bat did not come true immediately as Delhi opted to bowl after winning the toss. But Kohli'ꦇs mere presence on the field was enough to keep the fans hooked to the proceedings.
Man🌼ning the second slip, his every move attracted a cheer from the crowd and in the 12th over, an overzealous fan breached the security to run towards the 'King'.
He just about managed to touch Kohli's feet before being whisked away by the security. Well aware of his popularity, Kohli did not forget to acknowledge the crowd every now and then with a wave of the hand, showing respect towards the people who were there only to catch⛄ a glimpse of him.
The immensely popular star is loved across age grou🍒ps and on Thursday, the ones who came t🌺o support him included a bunch of school kids, a budding female cricketer and a housewife among several others.
"We have taken of✱f from school to wa🉐tch Kohli," said the kids in a group of four.
When told that Kohli 🔴would not be batting anytime soon with Delhi opting to field, they said: "It doesn't matter, we will watch him field."
A girl child, studyi🅘ng in class II, was also in the crowd. Fans started to make a beeline to the st♌adium as early as 6 am.
"I came here at 6 am with my so🍒n. We did not know which gate to enter from. It goes without saying that we are here for 🌼Kohli," said a housewife.
A young man, who was screaming the star batter's name while entering the stadium, said he was here to watch Kohli get back in form after a disappointing run in the✨ Border-Gavaskar series against Australia.
"He should get a hundred, else the fans would be very disappointed. Everyone is here to watch only him. This is not the turnout for a Ranj🌠i match normally," he 🎶said.
With the chants of his name reverberating every few ▨minutes, it wou𒐪ldn't be wrong to say that one man turned an otherwise mundane Ranji clash into a spectacle.
