The last game in the Delhi leg of the Pro Kabaddi League saw the home side Dabang Delhi go down 31-37 to high-flying Bengal Warriors. It was the last chance for the Eagles to put on a show for their home fans in what has been a season to forget. The Warriors, on the other hand, were looking to solidify in defense as they keep one eye on the playoffs.
Delhi started off with Anil Nimbolkar, K Selvamani and Seong Ryeol Kim in the starting lineup as raiders Kashiling Adake and Surjeet Singh both missed out. The Warriors welcomed their star raider Nitin Tomar, who was back from a spell out due to injury. In a tense half of kabaddi, both sides fought hard and had a real go at each other.
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Anil Nimbolkar opened the Eagles’ account, but the Warriors’ star raider Jang Kun Lee picked up a couple of his own to kick things off. It was a tense and low-scoring affair with no major highlights as both sides played with caution and patience.
Nimbolkar equalized for Delhi in the 11th minute to make it 7-7 after which the team from Kolkata edged ahead into an 8-11 lead. The Eagles responded in fine fashion with a super tackle and a fantastic raid by K Selvamani and nudged ahead. It was the Warriors who went into the break in the ascendancy after successful raids from Lee and Nitin Tomar.
HT: Dabang Delhi 13-16 Bengal Warriors
Disaster struck for the Eagles in the second half as they were dismissed in just the second minute after the Warriors opened with a successful raid and defense. The visitors opened up an 8-point lead with the score at 13-21.
The Warriors continued to strike and gained multiple points in attack and defense while K Selvamani was the lone ranger for the Eagles. It was 16-28 to the Kolkata side before Anil Nimbolkar conjured up a fantastic super raid and brought life back into the game.
He picked up another touch point, but the all out was delayed thanks to a super tackle by the two remaining men. It was with six minutes to play that Delhi scored the all out after Anil Nimbolkar dismissed both defenders with a Herculean raid and give his side a chance to come back at 25-31.
Alas, there was to be no miraculous fightback as the Warriors picked up the next three points, two of which came from a speedy raid by Lee. They saw the game out comfortably and picked up a six-point win with a score of 31-37.
FT: Dabang Delhi 31-37 Bengal Warriors
A disappointing end to the home leg for the Dabang Delhi side as they remained winless, with three losses and one tie. The two raiders performed excellently on the night as Anil and Selvamani added 14 and 10 points respectively. The Warriors will be pleased with the win and Jang Kun Lee’s performance, as he scored 13 raid points with a 66% success rate.
