Virat Kohli returns to Vijay Hazare Trophy: King’s tryst with silence and chaos
Bengaluru (PTI): Virat Kohli’s 58th List A hundred resembled a grand opera played inside an empty Royal Albert Hall.
Kohli’s 83-ball knock for Delhi against Andhra in the Vijay Hazare Trophy was magnificent as usual in its execution, but there were no screaming spectators to garnish the occasion here at the BCCI Centre of Excellence.
The Karnataka government’s reticence to grant permission to host matches at the M Chinnaswamy Stadium citing security reasons forced the KSCA to shift matches to CoE, and the venue was out of bounds for fans.
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So, instead of a roaring house, a tranche of snail-paced cargo trucks, a large posse of police personnel and few fans gawking over the barbed concrete walls provided an austere setting for Kohli’s return to Vijay Hazare Trophy after 15 years.
Kohli himself might have found it a tad bizarre. For a better part of the last decade and half, the 37-year-old has always walked onto a cricket field to an uproarious welcome.
Even his return to Ranji Trophy earlier this year after a hiatus of 12 years at Ferozeshah Kotla had drawn huge crowds.
But on a sunny Wednesday, Kohli made a rather unfamiliar, lonely walk to the middle — no cheers, no chants of "Kohli... Kohli!" and not even that ubiquitous RCB cries that reverberate around stadiums irrespective of the formats he plays.
The thick veil of silence was breached only when the fielding side players chatted among themselves or when occasional applause emanated from the respective dressing rooms.
But the entire sight had its own charm. A champion cricketer who has always been flanked on either side by fame and fans, was now doing it all alone.
There were short chats and high-fives with teammates, a diving stop to deny Ricky Bhui another boundary, and a quick word of advice to Delhi pacer Navdeep Saini when Andhra batters carted him around.
Kohli even jived to some imaginary tune. Perhaps, an effort to recreate an air of exuberance and theatre around him, something he loves to do so dearly on a cricket field.
He was trying to flame the dramatist inside him, which often drove him to some dizzying peaks.
Kohli the master batter
But that situational solitude did not affect his batting. Barring a couple of drops, Kohli slipped into his familiar ‘Chase Master’ garb with ease.
His money shots were on full view on Wednesday — pulls, charge to spinners, flicks, cuts and those beautiful perpendicular bat straight drives.
Fifty came in 39 balls and 100 in 83 balls, but none of those moments were celebrated with usual gusto. But a simple wave to the dressing room marked the occasion.
In fact, silence shrouded those moments so deep that a blink could have made one miss them.
But there was another side to it. Perhaps, Kohli too might have enjoyed that slice of loneliness which he often craves for.
That search for privacy has made him set an alternate base in London apart from his uber posh Mumbai dwelling. Here, he had all the desired isolation.
But the day ended in familiar chaos. Andhra cricketers and officials mobbed him for photographs and autographs, and he obliged with a smile.
“It was a dream to play in the same match as Kohli. I always wanted to play with or in the opposition (of Kohli), and the all the Andhra cricketers were elated at the opportunity,” said fellow centurion Ricky Bhui after the match.
As boxing legend Frank Bruno once said: ‘Boy! That’s cricket.”
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Karnataka leads in AI: Minister Priyank Kharge at Impact Summit
Bengaluru (PTI): Minister Priyank Kharge on Wednesday highlighted the state’s leadership in AI and deep technology while engaging with global industry leaders and startups at a four-day summit held in New Delhi, officials said.
During the event, Priyank witnessed the signing of a strategic MoU between H Company and St John’s Medical College & Research Institute, Bengaluru, to pilot advanced enterprise AI for hospital operations and workflow automation, strengthening responsible AI in healthcare, the minister’s office said in a statement here.
Speaking on the sidelines of the India AI Impact Summit, the minister said Karnataka is ahead of the curve in AI.
“We are already home to leading global AI players such as Harvey AI and Anthropic, and The Walt Disney Company is expanding its AI network in Bengaluru,” he added.
Noting Bengaluru’s position among the top global cities for AI talent, he added, “Under our DeepTech Decade, we are supporting startups with grants of up to Rs 1 crore. We are engaging with global leaders and innovators to ensure responsible AI use, build the right skill sets, create strong incubators, and establish Centres of Excellence that can foster startups and strengthen e-governance.”
The minister also attended a roundtable organised by the US-India Business Council (USIBC), where discussions focused on strengthening technology collaboration, investment partnerships, and innovation-led growth between Karnataka and global enterprises.
He met Timo Harakka, Member of Parliament of Finland, to explore possibilities for collaboration between Karnataka and Finland in AI and deep-tech sectors, including joint research, innovation partnerships, and startup exchanges.
The Karnataka IT Minister also visited the Indian Army showcase at the summit, which featured advanced AI-driven defence and strategic technology applications, highlighting the role of AI in national security and modernisation efforts.
He toured the Karnataka Pavilion and the ArtPark Pavilion, interacting with founders and teams from Karnataka’s innovation ecosystem and reviewing emerging AI and deep-tech solutions, the statement added.
