Kohli and Sharma's Triumphant Returns Highlight High-Scoring Vijay Hazare Trophy Opener

The opening round of the Vijay Hazare Trophy 2025-26 witnessed a series of compelling matches, headlined by the return of Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma to domestic List A cricket. Both seasoned players marked their comebacks with centuries, setting the stage for an exciting tournament.

Virat Kohli, playing for Delhi against Andhra, scored a sparkling century, reaching the milestone in 83 balls. His innings of 131 helped Delhi chase down a target of 299, securing a four-wicket victory. This marked Kohli's return to the Vijay Hazare Trophy after 12 years, adding significant weight to Delhi's batting lineup. Notably, during his innings, Kohli surpassed Sachin Tendulkar to become the fastest to 16,000 List A runs, achieving the feat in his 330th innings.

Rohit Sharma, representing Mumbai against Sikkim, also scored a century, his fastest in List A cricket. Sharma's 155 contributed significantly to Mumbai's eight-wicket win while chasing 237. The match drew a large crowd, with fans expressing their support for Sharma, creating an electrifying atmosphere at the Sawai Mansingh Stadium in Jaipur.

Beyond the individual milestones, the first round featured several high-scoring affairs and record-breaking performances. Karnataka executed a stunning chase of a 413-run target against Jharkhand, with Devdutt Padikkal setting the foundation with a century and Abhinav Manohar and Dhruv Prabhakar providing the finishing touches. Saurashtra also successfully chased a substantial target of 346 against Odisha, with Gajjar Sammar remaining unbeaten on 132. Bihar made headlines by registering the highest team total in List A cricket, while opener Vaibhav Suryavanshi scored the second-fastest List A hundred by an Indian, reaching the century mark in just 36 balls.

Uttar Pradesh secured an 84-run win over Hyderabad, powered by a collective batting effort and a strong performance from their spin trio, including List-A debutants Zeeshan Ansari and Prashant Veer. Kerala defeated Tripura by 145 runs, with Aparajith taking a five-wicket haul. Other matches saw Gujarat, Himachal Pradesh, Goa, Baroda, Railways, Punjab, Tamil Nadu, Madhya Pradesh, and Bengal securing victories against their respective opponents.

The Vijay Hazare Trophy 2025-26 is being viewed with increased interest due to the presence of high-profile players like Kohli and Sharma, coupled with the looming 2027 World Cup, adding importance to performances in this domestic ODI season.

Editor’s note: This article was independently written by the Scoopliner Editorial Team using publicly available information.