Delhi's new target of 400-plus guarantees safety as they pick three points against Gujarat

New Delhi: The Ranji Trophy match between Delhi and Gujarat at the Palam II ground ended in a draw but not before the visiting team stretched Ayush Badoni's men to deny them an outright win.

Gujarat folded for 479 and were 15/1 following on before stumps were drawn, as Delhi struggled to get wickets in a heap. They had Gujarat struggling at 153/4 on the third day but then a 124-run partnership between Manan Hingrajia (123) and Jaymeet Patel (72) for the fifth wicket as well as a 108-run partnership for the sixth between Hingrajia and skipper Chintan Gaja (82) defied them. Even after the fall of the sixth wicket, of Hingrajia, there was resistance for the seventh wicket as Gaja added 58 with Vishal Jayswal.

The resistance from the Gujaratis meant Delhi had to bowl 174.1 overs and although the pitch was as good as dead and without any help, Delhi couldn't press the advantage. Off-spinner Hrithik Shokeen picked 5/143 in 53 overs while Sumit Mathur took 2/51 in 25 overs. Ayush Badoni and Ayush Doseja were also pressed into action but couldn't get a wicket. The three pacemen -- Money Grewal, Navdeep Saini and Divij Mehra -- took a wicket apiece.

One thing that would satisfy Delhi is that their batsmen managed to get a big score in the first innings -- 648/6 declared. Head Coach Vijay Dahiya is of the opinion that a total of above 400 gives Delhi a good chance to either win or take points on first innings.

"They need to try to get at least 400. Some days they might not get it, but the plan should be to get 400-plus and that is what can put a team in a good position in domestic cricket," he told www.thedelhijunction.com after the second day's play.

Priyansh Arya's (in pic) early onslaught on the opening day helped Delhi put Gujarat on the backfoot. The left-handed Arya scored 199 off just 220 balls (24x4s, 6x6s) and by the time he was dismissed as the fourth wicket, Delhi were already 376/4 in 77 overs. That was a scoring rate of 4.88 per over. Quite high for a multi-day game.

"This is special because it is my first 100 in this format. I want to score more for my team and win more matches. But this one is very special for me," said Arya who played only two matches last year.

"I was thinking about it (Ranji Trophy century) ever since I started playing cricket," added Arya.

Arya is known for his aggressive batting in white-ball cricket. But he says he has been playing like this since childhood.

"I was always a hitter -- even during the under-19 and under-23 days when we played with red ball. I used to consider myself a red ball hitter across formats," added Arya, who said that he batted cautiously in the initial phase and then opened his shoulders.

"In the end, if all the bowlers get tired, we can score more. That's how it is."

Tags : Priyansh Arya, Ranji Trophy, Hrithik Shokeen, Palam, Money Grewal, Delhi, Gujarat