Services bowl Odisha out for 180 on Day 1

Kohli's first Ranji Trophy match since 2012 reiterated his superstardom amongst the stalwarts of Indian cricket

- SWAROOP SWAMINATHAN/GOMESH S @ Chennai

IN an interview to Anupam Kher, Shah Rukh Khan, when he was asked whether he feared losing his status as the alpha star, responded by saying: "I'm the last of the stars." At once, it revealed how secure he was in the legacy he would leave behind.

Indian cricket, too, has had a ton of stars capable of creating a traffic jam on an eight-lane national highway. Just as New Delhi's Air Quality Index (AQI) plummeted further on Thursday morning, the city woke up and made a beeline to watch one of the sport's last stars take centre stage at the Arun Jaitley Stadium. Virat Kohli. What was supposed to be a rather nondescript Ranji Trophy affair between Delhi and Railways had already threatened to become a generational game when it had emerged that the 36-year-old had made himself available for the encounter. As an occasion, this was going to be Lionel Messi appearing for Newell's or Usain Bolt running in the 100m for a local Jamaican club.

One can argue whether Kohli should have even been there (at least at the surface level, with less than 10 days to go for the first ODI between India and England, all of these players one of the hottest tickets in town. A Coldplay concert but for cricket fans. So they trekked from all over the National Capital Region. What if Thursday was a working day? When Kohli is going to be at work in your backyard, your definition of a 'working day' gets adjusted accordingly. Very soon, the Delhi & District Cricket Association (DDCA) had to do some adjustments of their own to accommodate the hoi polloi who had descended to the ground. Even before a ball was bowled, the Gautam Gambhir Stand, capable of holding approximately 6000 fans, was filled to capacity.