Virat Kohli made a spectacular comeback in domestic List A cricket after almost 15 years, playing a brilliant inning of **131 runs off 101 balls** in Delhi’s successful chase of 299 against Andhra in the Vijay Hazare Trophy 2025-26 Group D match in Bengaluru on December 24.
The former Indian captain, who was playing his first Vijay Hazare Trophy match since 2010, came on to the field early and displayed a brilliant blend of composure and aggressive strokeplay in the old fashion. His innings included 14 fours and three sixes, helping Delhi win by four wickets.
Kohli stitched crucial partnerships with Priyansh Arya (74 off 44 balls) and Nitish Rana (77) as Delhi overcame Andhra’s score of 298/8 thanks to Ricky Bhui’s 122 runs.
**Historical Milestone**
On scoring his first run in the innings, Kohli completed 16,000 List A runs, becoming the second Indian after Sachin Tendulkar to achieve the feat. He achieved this feat the fastest in 330 innings, and has the highest average (over 57) among players who have scored more than 16,000 runs.
The match, played behind closed doors at the BCCI Center of Excellence, showcased Kohli’s continued dominance in the 50-over format amid BCCI’s order for centrally contracted players to play domestic cricket.
**Playing XI**
**Andhra**: KS Bharat (wk), Ashwin Hebbar, Sheikh Rashid, Ricky Bhui, Nitish Kumar Reddy (captain), Saurabh Kumar, Maram Reddy Hemanth Reddy, KS Narasimha Raju, Tripurana Vijay, Satyanarayana Raju, SDNV Prasad.
**Delhi**: Arpit Rana, Priyansh Arya, Virat Kohli, Nitish Rana, Rishabh Pant (wicketkeeper/captain), Ayush Badoni, Simarjeet Singh, Harsh Tyagi, Ishant Sharma, Prince Yadav, Navdeep Saini.
This performance of Kohli has created a strong atmosphere ahead of India’s upcoming ODI matches.
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