Priyansh Arya curious to learn about Kohli’s approach to chases: Vijay Dahiya

Priyansh Arya scored a run-a-ball 15 in Delhi’s attempt to chase 320 against Services in a Ranji Trophy fixture. | Photo Credit: SHASHI SHEKHAR KASHYAP

For Delhi to chase down a target of 320 in 54 overs on day four of its Ranji Trophy clash against Services, Priyansh Arya needed to show the instincts of a calculated chaser. The 25-year-old southpaw, in his endeavour to set the tempo, smashed off-spinner Pulkit Narang for a six off the first ball of the run chase. But he couldn’t carry on for much longer, pulling all-rounder Jayant Goyat to Nitin Tanwar in the deep for a run-a-ball 15 on Thursday.

On returning to the dressing room, Priyansh had a query for coach Vijay Dahiya. “How would Virat Kohli have approached this chase?”

The anecdote, revealed by Dahiya after the game, told two things: Priyansh’s eagerness to learn, and the reverence for Kohli, who turned 38 on Thursday, in the Delhi dressing room.

Once Priyansh’s dismissal was followed by Ayush Badoni’s leg-before in the 11th over, Delhi could do little other than shut up shop for a draw.

The result left Dahiya disappointed. Despite securing a first-innings lead of 78 runs on Wednesday, the seven-time champion couldn’t push on in the search for six points. With Badoni’s side compiling just seven points after four games, its chances of reaching the knockouts when the competition resumes in January appear wafer-thin.

“I’m disappointed with the performance. We knew all along what was on the line before the game started. The approach was to try and take the maximum points out of this game,” Dahiya stated. “When you want to win a game in this format, you have to dictate terms. And we didn’t dictate any session. So, we are disappointed because we wanted the maximum out of this game to stay alive.”