Chennai, November 10: Virat Kohli again hit the purple patch with an unbeaten 119 as Delhi ended on 258 for three against Tamil Nadu on the first day of their Ranji Trophy Elite Group A match here Wednesday.
Kohli, who compiled 173 against Bengal last week, batted fluently (3x 6, 11 x 4) to help Delhi recover from 55 for two, adding 190 runs for the third wicket with veteran Mithun Manhas (70).
The Tamil Nadu bowlers toiled for meagre rewards and at best were restrictive especially after raising visions of cutting through the Delhi innings when openers Chetan Sharma and Shikhar Dhawan departed in quick succession.
Once Kohli and Manhas got going, it was Delhi all the way. Kohli, as usual, was at his aggressive best and was not afraid to take charge while Manhas kept his end up with a watchful innings that ended when he was struck on the pads by a delivery from seamer Chandrasekar Ganapathy that kept low.
Soon, Rajat Bhatia retired after being struck on the hand, but there was no further setback for Delhi who built themselves a good platform for a big score on the morrow.
–IANS