India’s modern-day greats Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma turned the spotlight firmly on themselves as they marked emphatic returns to domestic cricket, both scoring authoritative centuries in the Vijay Hazare Trophy on Wednesday to power convincing wins for Delhi and Mumbai respectively.
Rohit was in imperious touch for Mumbai against Sikkim in Jaipur, producing a breathtaking 155 off just 94 balls, including a 62-ball century, as he led from the front in a run chase of 237. Walking out to open the innings in front of a huge crowd at the Sawai Mansingh Stadium, the 38-year-old dismantled the Sikkim bowling attack with trademark aggression. It was Rohit’s second century in the Vijay Hazare Trophy, the previous one having come against Tamil Nadu in 2008. Mumbai rode on Rohit’s brilliance to seal a dominant eight-wicket victory.
In stark contrast, Kohli’s milestone knock for Delhi came behind closed doors in Bengaluru, with no spectators present at the BCCI’s Centre of Excellence. Making his return to the Vijay Hazare Trophy after 15 years, Kohli walked in at No. 3 during Delhi’s chase of 299 after an early wicket. He brought up a fluent 39-ball fifty, anchored the innings through a 113-run partnership with Priyansh Arya, and later combined with Nitish Rana to keep Delhi firmly in control.
The former India captain raised his century in 83 balls and eventually walked back after a majestic 131, powering Delhi to a four-wicket win. The innings also carried historic significance, as Kohli surpassed Sachin Tendulkar to become the fastest batter to reach 16,000 runs in men’s List A cricket, achieving the milestone in his 330th innings.
With match-winning hundreds from two of India’s biggest batting icons, the Vijay Hazare Trophy witnessed a throwback day, reaffirming the enduring class and dominance of Kohli and Rohit on the domestic stage.
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