Rohit and Kohli shine on return in Vijay Hazare Trophy

Bangla Press Desk:  Veteran Indian batters Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli marked their return to domestic action with stunning centuries in the Vijay Hazare Trophy on Wednesday.

Rohit, playing his first match in the tournament after seven years, smashed a sensational 155 off 94 balls as Mumbai thrashed Sikkim by eight wickets in their Elite Group C fixture in Jaipur.

He was named 'Player of the Match' for his efforts, guiding Mumbai to chase down a modest target of 237 in just 30.3 overs.

Kohli, meanwhile, reached triple figures in 83 balls during Delhi's Elite Group D clash against Andhra Pradesh.

During his innings, Kohli also achieved the milestone of 16,000 List A runs, becoming only the second Indian after Sachin Tendulkar to reach this landmark.

The 37-year-old now ranks as the ninth player overall to surpass 16,000 List A runs, joining cricketing legends such as Tendulkar, Ricky Ponting, Kumar Sangakkara, and Sir Vivian Richards.

Kohli’s last Vijay Hazare appearance was in the 2010–11 season, when he captained Delhi. He later played in the NKP Salve Challenger Trophy in 2013–14 but had not featured in the Vijay Hazare Trophy for nearly a decade. His eagerly awaited comeback got off to a perfect start with this milestone innings.

Elsewhere in Ahmedabad, wicketkeeper-batter Ishan Kishan made a strong case for an ODI recall by blasting a 33-ball century for Jharkhand against Karnataka.

Kishan’s innings is the second-fastest by an Indian in List A cricket, just one delivery shy of Bihar captain Sakibul Gani’s record 32-ball century against Arunachal Pradesh, which also came on Wednesday.

BP/SP