The Round 1 action of the 2025/26 Vijay Hazare Trophy threw up many talking points. Here are the top five.
Virat Kohli & Rohit Sharma here to stay
Over the last two months and a bit, Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma have put all speculations about their future in the ODI format to rest. Now, after making themselves available for at least the first two games, the duo went about their business in usual fashion in Round 1 of the VHT. While Kohli’s 101-ball 131 for Delhi made light work of the 299-run target set by Andhra, Rohit helped Mumbai chase a modest 237 against Sikkim with a 155 off 94.
World records tumble on a batting-friendly day
In a high-scoring opening round, there were 11 scores of 300-plus in 16 Elite group games, while Bihar smashed a record-breaking 574 against Arunachal Pradesh in the Plate group. Bihar’s 574-6 is now, by far, the highest List-A total of all-time. They broke Tamil Nadu’s record of 506-2, which they set against Arunachal Pradesh in 2022.
In the same game, Vaibhav Suryavanshi hit an 84-ball 190 and, en route, broke AB de Villiers’ record of the fastest List-A 150, getting there in 59 deliveries. He was also approaching the fastest List-A 200 - off 104 balls – but was dismissed 10 short of the mark.
Meanwhile, Karnataka came close to breaking the world record for the highest List-A chase. They chased down 413 against Jharkhand, making the national record for the highest chase in the format, but were 22 short of South Africa’s famous 435-run chase against Australia in 2005.
Has Ishan Kishan started his journey to potential ODI return?
Ishan Kishan celebrated his return to the national T20I team in style, hitting a mind-blowing 39-ball 125 against Karnataka in Jharkhand’s VHT opener, though it came in a loss. He hit the second-fastest List-A century by an Indian, reaching the milestone in 33 deliveries, and is only behind Bihar captain Sakibul Gani (32 balls). He now has three centuries and two fifties in his last 10 white-ball games.
The wicketkeeper-batter’s road back to the national team was long, having last played for India over two years ago. But after a stunning Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy season, he has started the VHT in commanding fashion, and began his journey to a potential ODI return as well. He last played the format for India during the 2023 World Cup - against Afghanistan in Delhi.
Should Plate league be given List A status?
Bihar’s brutal takedown of Arunachal Pradesh somewhat took the limelight away from the returns of Kohli and Rohit. Batting first, they slammed 574, and three of their batters scored in three figures with strike-rates of over 200. Captain Sakibul Gani scored 128 off just 40 balls, Suryavanshi got 190 off 84, while Ayush Loharuka got 116 off 56. Piyush Singh scored a 66-ball 77 as well. Only one of seven Arunachal bowlers could manage an economy rate of under 10.
In reply, the north-east Indian side was all-out for 177 in 42.1 overs. Captain Kamsha Yangfo was the top-scorer with 32, three more batters got into their 20s, and the 12 extras outscored five of them. On the other hand, only one of the six Bihar bowlers went at over six runs an over, with Suryavanshi, who had previously bowled just 18 balls in List A cricket also finishing with respectable figures of 4-0-19-0.
Match 1, Arunachal Pradesh vs Bihar
vs
- Ball by ball Over
The wide gulf in quality of the sides begs the question whether Plate league should be given List A status? Bihar are yet to play Manipur, Nagaland, Mizoram and Meghalaya in this season’s VHT, and we could yet see some more records tumble.
Lack of broadcast of VHT games criticised
The return of two legends of one-day cricket to the Vijay Hazare Trophy should have prompted the BCCI to broadcast their games live, in turn bringing more eyeballs to their domestic circuit. It felt like a given in the lead-up to the first round of games, but Star - the host broadcasters - later confirmed that Delhi and Mumbai’s games would not be telecast live on any platform. A strange decision, which felt more so after recordings of Kohli and Rohit’s innings were uploaded on BCCI Domestic’s social platforms. Why would you not cash in on the participation of two of the biggest superstars of modern-day cricket in the Vijay Hazare Trophy - was a sentiment that was commonly observed among fans and pundits alike.
As it turned out, only the games played at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad - Tamil Nadu vs Puducherry - and the Niranjan Shah Stadium in Rajkot - Hyderabad vs Uttar Pradesh - were broadcast live. The trend will continue in the second game as well, with Star Sports confirming that Jharkhand vs Rajasthan and Assam vs Jammu and Kashmir will be the only two second-round games (out of a total 16 in the Elite league) to be broadcast live.
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