Virat Kohli fever has gripped Delhi with the former India captain coming back in Ranji Trophy after a long gap of 12 years. This has led to massive excitement among the fans who thronged the stadium on the opening day of the match between Delhi and Railways. Delhi and Districts Cricket Association (DDCA) had earlier announced that entry would be free for 10,000 fans and that three gates would open.
However, they didn't anticipate that a lot of people would flock to the venue to watch their favourite cricketer. With only limited entry for the fans, DDCA had to open an extra stand to accommodate them owing to a stampede scare. Initially, only the Gautam Gambhir stand was made accessible to the fans but looking at the large turnout, the Bishan Singh Bedi Stand was also opened later.
There were reports of injuries to few fans but Delhi Police has reported no such incident outside the stadium. "There was a rush at the time of entry as only one gate was being used by DDCA (Delhi & District Cricket Association). Soon, the other gates were opened. No report of any injuries," Delhi Police said. Earlier, DDCA had asked the fans to bring an identification card with them to get the entry. However, in the wake of the chaos, it was never checked.
Meanwhile, fans' excitement kind of deserted once they got to know that Delhi opted to bowl first after winning the toss. The majority of them had come to watch Kohli bat and it was clear that he wouldn't be batting anytime soon. However, the 36-year-old might come out to bat later today with Railways losing five wickets in the first session. He will be batting at number four and Delhi would have to lose two wickets for the fans to watch Kohli bat.
Notably, Kohli will definitely come out to bat tomorrow (Friday) and DDCA will already have to take solid measures as more turnout could be expected on the second day, in that case.