Kohli breaks Tendulkar record on Vijay Hazare return; Rohit joins 150-plus club

Virat Kohli marked his return to domestic cricket in emphatic fashion as he shattered a long-standing record on his first outing in the current Vijay Hazare Trophy season, while Rohit Sharma also made headlines with a blistering knock on Wednesday.

After 15 years away from the competition, Kohli turned out for Delhi in the Vijay Hazare Trophy, with participation in domestic cricket made mandatory for players aiming to feature in the ODI World Cup. He made the return memorable by becoming the fastest batter to reach 16,000 runs in List A cricket, surpassing the previous record held by Sachin Tendulkar.

Kohli, who last played in the tournament in 2009-10, reached the landmark during his 330th List A innings while playing against Andhra in Bengaluru. The chase master scored a masterful 101-ball 131 to take Delhi to a four-wicket win.

Tendulkar had needed 391 innings to reach the same milestone. The Indian batting great finished his illustrious List A career with 21,999 runs from 538 innings in 551 matches, including 18,426 runs from 452 ODIs. Kohli, meanwhile, has scored 14,557 runs in 296 ODIs so far. 

In the list of fastest batters to 16,000 List A runs, only two Indians -- Tendulkar and Kohli -- feature among the top five. They are joined by Gordon Greenidge (422 innings), Ricky Ponting (430 innings), and Graham Gooch and Viv Richards, who both reached the mark in 435 innings.

Rohit Sharma, like Kohli, also returned to the Vijay Hazare Trophy, ending a seven-year absence from India's premier domestic 50-over competition. 

At the age of 38 years and 238 days, Rohit, playing for Mumbai, became the second-oldest player to score a century in the tournament, reaching the milestone in just 62 balls. Bengal's Anustup Majumdar scored two centuries in the 2023-24 season when he was past 39.

Rohit eventually finished with a commanding 155 off 94 deliveries, laced with 18 fours and nine sixes, after having reached his century in 61 balls as Mumbai secured an eight-wicket victory.

The innings marked Rohit's ninth List A score of 150 or more, placing him jointly at the top of the list for most 150-plus scores in the format with Australia's David Warner.