The Dabang Delhi locked horns against the defending champions Bengal Warriors in ‘Match 104’ of the Pro Kabaddi League Season 8.
Both the teams looked strong throughout the match and it was the raiders that shined bright from both sides as Naveen Kumar and Maninder Singh scored sixteen points each for their teams. While this may not have been the result the Delhi-based franchise was looking for, the team will be happy with the draw against the Warriors as they bounced back to the second spot on the points table.
Naveen was electric for his side as the raider was a constant threat for the Warriors and made sure to keep this team in the game throughout the contest. The strike raider was aptly supported by Vijay Malik, who has been a great support for Naveen for the majority of the season. Vijay had nine points to his name and made sure to pick up points for his side when Naveen was on the sidelines.
The team, however, struggled in defense as the side could only score seven tackle points in both halves of the contest. Skipper, Joginder Narwal led the charge for his side as he secured three points against his name. Other than Joginder, none of the other defenders from Delhi could leave an impact on the game and will look to make sure that they can learn from their mistakes and prepare for the knockout stages of the tournament.
On the other hand, Bengal Warriors will surely be disappointed with how the night turned out for the team as their chances for playoffs have slimmed down with the draw against Delhi.
The defending champions have 47 points to their name in their 19 fixtures and are struggling at the ninth spot on the points table. The team hasn’t been able to secure a win in their last five games and the Warriors will need a miracle if they wish to find a spot amongst the top 6 on the points table.
Maninder was the ace for the Bengal-based franchise as the ace raider picked up sixteen points for his side. Other than Maninder, none of the other raiders from the side were able to make a dent against the Delhi-based franchise and heavily relied on their skipper to pick up the bulk of their points.
The defenders tried to support their ace raider as they picked up ten tackle points in the contest. Amit Narwal picked up three points for his side, but the team missed Mohammad Nabibaksh who was out from the playing seven tonight.
Maninder Singh in action as he escapes Jeeva Kumar’s tackle attempt to reach the midline
The game started off slow as both the teams went back and forth early in the contest with both Maninder and Naveen keeping the defender on their toes. The Warriors quickly found the early advantage against their opponents as they were able to restrict Naveen and then used the momentum to inflict the first all-out upon their opponents within the first ten minutes of the half, to create a four-point advantage over their opponents.
Delhi however, did not allow the all-out to set in for too long as the team fired back with Naveen and Vijay as the two raiders picked up back-to-back raid points to put the defending champions in a precarious position.
Delhi capitalized on the makeshift momentum as they returned the favor upon their opponents inflicting an all-out on the Warriors with just 30 seconds remaining in the first half. At the end of the first half, both teams were neck-to-neck with the Delhi-based franchise leading by just one point, as the scoreline displayed 18-19 in favor of the Dabang’s.
The second half was full of action from both sides as the momentum shifted yet again, this time in favor of the Bengal-based franchise as Maninder picked up the pace scoring consecutive raid points for his team to hammer Delhi with their second all-out of the game, regaining the lead in their favor with eight minutes into the second half.
Delhi had no plans to back down from the challenge as Naveen Kumar turned the tides of the game with a stunning Super raid in the final moments of the game to put Dabang Delhi in the lead by a point with just fifty seconds remaining in the contest.
However, Manjeet Chillar seemed a little impatient and went for an advance tackle on Rohit, as the raider saw it coming and escaped his clutches to save his team from the brink of an all-out. Both teams could not find the deciding point before the buzzer ran out as Dabang Delhi and Bengal Warriors had to settle on a draw.