“Bus driver told me to bowl fifth stump line to Virat Kohli,” Himanshu Sangwan makes shocking disclosure

Sangwan knocked over Kohli for just 6 runs in the Ranji Trophy match between Delhi and Railways.

Himanshu Sangwan celebrates the wicket of Virat Kohli | XRailways pacer Himanshu Sangwan, who rose to fame after taking the wicket of Virat Kohli in the Ranji Trophy, opened up on receiving an advice from his team bus driver on how to get the prized scalp of the legendary batter.

Sangwan, who knocked over Kohli for just 6 runs to silence the Delhi crowd on January 31, revealed that the bus driver told him to bowl a fifth stump line to the Indian star.

Speaking to Hindustan Times, Sangwan said that he was shocked to receive such suggestion from the bus driver. Himanshu, the Railways bowler was focusing on his strengths rather than Kohli's weaknesses.

"The bus in which we were travelling, even the bus driver told me that you need to bowl at the fourth-fifth stump line to Virat Kohli, and then he will get out. I had self-belief. I just wanted to focus on my own strengths rather than someone else's weaknesses. I bowled to my strengths and ended up getting the wicket," Sangwan said in the interview.

"There was no specific plan for Virat Kohli in general. The coaches told us that the players from Delhi like to play attacking cricket. They are all stroke players. We were told to bowl a disciplined line," he added.

talked about his experience of playing the Ranji Trophy match, which was attended by tens of thousands of fans.

Notably, the age-old problem of fishing outside the off stump led to Kohli’s downfall throughout the Border-Gavaskar 2024/25, with Australian quicks Scott Boland, Josh Hazlewood and Mitchell Starc exploiting his weakness.

Virat Kohli finished the tour of Australia with an average of 23.75, amassing 190 runs from nine innings.

Himanshu Sangwan also talked about the generous nature of Kohli after the match, saying that he was lauded by the former Indian captain in the dressing room.

"When our innings ended, I was going to the dressing room and Virat Kohli was coming to the field. Ayush Badoni and Virat were there. Virat Bhaiya himself shook hands with me and said, 'Very well bowled'. He told me that I was bowling well. I then told him I wanted to take a picture with him during the lunch break. I went to Delhi's dressing room. I took the same ball with which I got him out. He even asked me whether it was the same ball. He then said jokingly, 'Oh teri ki. Maza aa gaya tujhe toh'," Sangwan remarked.

Virat Kohli’s return to the Ranji Trophy has been inspired by BCCI’s latest diktat that makes it mandatory for centrally contracted players to feature in domestic cricket when not on national duty. The decision was taken after India’s 1-3 drubbing in the Border-Gavaskar Trophy Down Under.

Kohli will return to action for India during the ODI series against England, starting on February 6 in Nagpur. The three ODIs are seen as a final dress rehearsal for the upcoming ICC Champions Trophy.

 
 

By Salman Anjum - 04 Feb, 2025

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