Meet Himanshu Sangwan, pacer who spoiled Virat Kohli's Ranji Trophy return, once worked as..., he is from...

Virat Kohli's first Ranji Trophy innings in 13 years lasted all of 15 balls, extending his lean run and fuelling the raging debate over his form, as Himanshu Sangwan dismissed the star cricketer in the early over.

For the 5000-odd crowd that assembled here to watch Kohli (6 off 15 balls), it was fun while it lasted but when he had his off-stump rooted by Railways pacer Himanshu Sangwan in the 28th over of Delhi's first innings, a majority of them took no time to exit the Arun Jaitley Stadium.

January 31, 2025

The frequent chants of 'RCB, RCB' and 'Kohli, Kohli' dried up as the superstar took the long walk back to the dressing room, giving the railway employee Sangwan the most prized scalp of his career.

Who is Himanshu Sangwan?

The 29-year-old pacer, born in Delhi on September 2, 1995, made his List A debut for Railways in 2019 during the 2019-20 Vijay Hazare Trophy on September 27. Himanshu subsequently made his T20 debut in the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy on November 8 and had his first red-ball appearance with Railways in the Ranji Trophy on December 9.

Himanshu used to work as a ticket collector at New Delhi Railway Station before starting his cricketing career. He has even trained under legendary Australian fast bowler Glenn McGrath at the MRF pace foundation.

A consistent performer, Himanshu entered the Ranji Trophy match against Delhi with 77 first-class wickets to his name, having played 23 matches in the tournament. In white-ball cricket, he has taken 21 List A wickets in 17 matches and 5 T20 wickets in seven matches.

Ahead of his first domestic red-ball appearance since November 2012, Virat Kohli trained with former India coach Sanjay Bangar to address batting flaws that emerged during the recent tour of Australia. 

Kohli struggled particularly with deliveries outside the off-stump throughout the two-month tour Down Under. He received a warm welcome as he came out to bat following the leg before wicket dismissal of Yash Dhull at around 10:30 am local time, marking an hour into the day's play.

After scoring two singles, Virat Kohli aimed to take control against right-arm pacer Sangwan during the over. 

Positioned well outside the crease, Kohli confidently sent Sangwan's delivery sailing towards the straight boundary. However, despite it still being the first session and the ball moving a bit, Kohli attempted an expansive drive off a good length delivery on the very next ball but missed completely, resulting in his off-stump being shattered.

(With the inputs from PTI)