Ranji Trophy: Steely Upendra Yadav steers Railways on Day 1 | Cricket News

On a day when it was absolute chaos outside Arun Jaitley Stadium, Railways’ Upendra Yadav calmed things down for his team on the first day of their Ranji Trophy fixture against Delhi. The wicketkeeper-batter scored a determined 95 and helped his team recover from a dire position at 66 for 5.Railways were bowled out for 241 in their first essay, after a 104-run stand between Yadav and Karn Sharma (50). In reply, Delhi lost opener Arpit Rana and were 41 for 1 at stumps on Day 1.
However, the day was all about Virat Kohli.
The fans came in huge numbers to watch him play his first Ranji Trophy match in more than 12 years. There was almost a stampede at Gate 16 of the stadium. Bahadur Shah Zafar Marg, the adjoining road, was sealed from the morning as it fell on Prime Miner Narendra Modi’s route to Raj Ghat, where he was to pay homage to Mahatma Gandhi on his death anniversary.

Relive 🎥
Upendra Yadav’s fighting knock of 95(177) under pressure 💪 against Delhi 👌👌https://t.co/52LOE2x0pl#RanjiTrophy | @IDFCFIRSTBank
— BCCI Domestic (@BCCIdomestic) January 30, 2025
To control the crowd, Delhi Police resorted to a lathicharge and the Delhi & Drict Cricket Association (DDCA) was forced to open Gate 18 and another stand to let the crowd enter the venue.
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If it was a frenzied atmosphere outside the stadium, on the 22 yards, the Railways batters were feeling the heat. There was high intensity in the first half of the day with the ever-energetic Kohli pumping the crowd to get behind the home team. And the crowd lened to his music. The Railways batters looked overwhelmed. When left-arm seamer Sidhhant Sharma pinned Anchit Yadav (7) in the second over, the half-filled stadia erupted.
The noise kept getting louder with every wicket as Siddhant, Navdeep Saini and Money Grewal rattled Railways’ top order.
Amidst all this, Yadav kept his cool. He started with a nice flick to square-leg and then showed his class with a perfect straight drive. He found support in veteran Karn Sharma and the duo forged a century stand for the sixth wicket. Karn fell immediately after reaching his half-century with a six off Saini’s bouncer, but the bowler had the last laugh when Delhi’s short-ball ploy finally worked.
Yadav, who hails from Kanpur and started his first-class career for Uttar Pradesh before moving to Railways, admitted the response of the crowd overwhelmed his teammates, who were not used to playing in such an atmosphere.Story continues below this ad
“Generally, when we play Ranji Trophy, there is not much of a crowd. It was all because of Virat Kohli. It feels good when a big player comes and plays Ranji Trophy,” Yadav said.
He credited his IPL experience for not succumbing to the crowd pressure. “I was with Sunrisers Hyderabad and have seen the atmosphere in the IPL. It was quite similar.
“When I was playing for UP, Suresh Raina played a match at Green Park in Kanpur. There were big crowds for that match as well and the Kanpur crowd was as loud as we have seen in Delhi,” he said.
The Railways ‘keeper missed out on a well-deserved century as he went for the glory shot and was caught in the deep off Sumit Mathur’s bowling. His knock was studded with 10 fours and a six.Story continues below this ad
It was pretty unusual for Yadav, who was intent on keeping strike but the adrenaline rush to reach his third century of the season got the better of him.
“I won’t say I was tired or rushed. Instead, I was confident that I could clear the boundary but I couldn’t,” he said.
Yadav, who was a regular for India A till last year, has fallen down the pecking order with the likes of Dhruv Jurel and Kumar Kushagra going past him. In five outings for India A, the 28-year-old has a couple of valuable knocks. He scored 76 against South Africa A at Bloemfontein and an unbeaten 71 against Bangladesh at Cox’s Bazar.
“I don’t know why I was dropped from the India A side. It is up to the selectors. My job is to keep scoring runs. I have done well in T20s and L A as well,” he said.Story continues below this ad
When asked whether leaving Uttar Pradesh had cost him a chance to play for India, he smiled and said: “I have never felt that way. But everyone tells me that.”
Saini bends back
For Delhi, pacers Saini (3/62), Siddhant (2/35) and Grewal (2/49) made the most of the new ball and helpful conditions in the first session. Left-arm spinner Sumit Mathur (3/20) took the most important wicket of Yadav and wrapped up the tail.
It was Saini who bowled with a lot of heart in the afternoon session when it looked like the pitch had turned into a road. He broke the crucial partnership between Karn Sharma and Yadav in the 53rd over.
“The captain and I spoke about the short-ball strategy and Virat bhai also had a word with Badoni. There wasn’t much happening from the pitch and we had tried to be patient. But after that, we resorted to bouncers. We knew we could concede a few runs but a wicket-taking opportunity would also arise,” Saini said.Story continues below this ad
He is one of the few Delhi cricketers who have played with Kohli for India and at Royal Challengers Bengaluru. He explained why the team had extra motivation for this match, calling it the Kohli effect.
“With him around, the other players’ energy goes up automatically. Over the last two days, our practice sessions were just different. Because his energy was so high, our energy was also high.”
“Kohli’s effort – whether he is batting, fielding or in the gym – is always 110%. Seeing him in training, you are compelled to follow that. It spills over to the ground as well.
“The intensity of the practice sessions on both days was very high. He was very involved on the field and was talking to all the bowlers and our captain. It was the same during practice.”
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Brief Scores: Railways 241 all out in 67.4 overs (Upendra Yadav 95, Karn Sharma 50; Navdeep Sain 3/62, Sumit Mathur 3/20, Money Grewal 2/49) vs Delhi 41/1 in 10 overs