New Delhi: While the first half of the opening day of the Vijay Hazare Trophy was all about record-breaking centuries, Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli stole the limelight in the second half with their respective hundreds on their return to the premier one-day domestic tournament.

Rohit scored a century for Mumbai off just 62 balls against Sikkim, and Kohli followed soon, hitting an 83-ball ton against Andhra Pradesh, as both players dominated their opponents.

Rohit made a sensational comeback to domestic cricket, scoring a century in what was his first Vijay Hazare Trophy match in seven years for Mumbai Wednesday.

Chasing Sikkim’s 236 runs in Jaipur, Rohit began confidently,

hitting a series of sixes and fours that made the target seem easy to reach. Approaching 14,000 runs in the 50-over format, this century marked the former India skipper’s 37th in List A cricket, adding to his tally of 33 international centuries for India.

Following Rohit’s impressive 155 for Mumbai, Kohli marked his return to the Vijay Hazare Trophy after 15 years with a typical century during a 299-run chase against Andhra at the BCCI’s Centre of Excellence in Bengaluru.

Kohli confidently led the chase, showcasing his usual flair, and scored a dazzling hundred. This marked his 58th List A century and his third century in four innings since the South Africa series earlier this month.

With his first run of the innings, Kohli joined an elite club as the ninth player ever to reach 16,000 List A runs, with more than 14,000 coming while playing for India since his debut in 2008.

During the game, Kohli also etched his name in cricketing folklore by completing 16000 List A runs.

Kohli’s 16,000-run feat makes him only the second Indian player, after legendary batter Sachin Tendulkar, to reach this figure in List A cricket.

The 37-year-old now stands as the ninth player overall to breach this milestone, joining the ranks of cricketing legends like Tendulkar, Ricky Ponting, Kumar Sangakkara, Sir Vivian Richards, and others.

IANS

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