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Dabang Delhi needed an emphatic performance to overcome the defending champions Bengal Warriors in Pro Kabaddi League (PKL) season 8, played in Bengaluru and Delhi’s Naveen Kumar did exactly that to register a convincing 52-35 win for his side.
Delhi lost five of their 25 matches in last season and two of those losses came against the Bengal side. So, it was indeed a prestige fight for Delhi.
Kumar picked up 24 points from 25 raids, his best performance in PKL, to avenge their last season’s defeat against the same opponents. All-rounder Vijay was also on fire after scoring a super 10 for Delhi.
Kumar seemed to be unstoppable from the very beginning as he picked up at least a point in each of his first five raid attempts and gave his side an early lead.
21-year-old Kumar on his own decimated the Bengal team as they experienced their first all out within the first seven minutes. Bengal’s game started looking more fragile as within five more minutes they had to suffer another all out. with the scoreboard reading 7-21.
16 points for Maninder Singh
Bengal’s Maninder Singh on the other hand, also put up a terrific show by bagging 16 points in the match but that was not enough to secure the victory for the defending champions.
The scoreboard kept ticking for the Delhi team with every passing raid as Kumar and Vijay, with a great support from Jeeva Kumar in the defence, put their team in a comfortable position.
Kumar soon notched up his 25th consecutive super ten in the league as he ruthlessly took defenders in his wake. Bengal Warriors looked bland defensively and lacked some serious threat overall.
In the second half, the Bengal defence appeared to have solved their problems as Abozar Mighani sent Ashu Malik out of the mat. Bengal tried their best to offer an inspiring comeback at 22-34 but Vijay soon got his super ten to put Delhi ahead with 38-24.
Delhi-born Kumar then returned to pick up his 20th raid point of the night as Delhi moved ahead with 40-25 and since then there seemed to be no looking back for Dabang Delhi.
With this victory Delhi remained at the top spot with 18 points from 4 games.
U.P. Yoddha secure tie
Meanwhile, in the other match of the night, an inspired show from Pardeep Narwal in the second half helped the U.P. Yoddha register a 32-32 tie with the Gujarat Giants. Raider Rakesh Narwal was the game’s top scorer with 13 points.
U.P. Yoddha scored a 3-1 lead early in the game, but a super raid from Narwal initiated a six-point run from the Gujarat side that left their opponents with just a single man on the mat.
U.P team finished the half stronger, to go into the break trailing 14-20.
Narwal’s strong surge in the second half continued, as U.P and the Giants soon were level on the scoreboard. The game was at 31-31 when Narwal’s 13th raid point of the match gave the Giants the lead. But Narwal’s assured touch saved the day for U.P, as the teams shared the spoils.
