In the game between Dabang Delhi and Bengaluru Bulls on 27th July, two moments, on either side of the line changed the complexion of the game. First Delhi’s star raider Kashiling Adake was pulled back spectacularly by Bulls’ defender Somvir Shekar. The ankle hold was timed perfectly and made for such an amazing visual spectacle for the audience present here at Jaipur’s Sawai Man Singh Stadium.
The next raid by the Bulls, in what was the final minute of the 1st half saw Manjeet Chillar losing his balance while reaching out for the line in an attempt to get 2 Dabang defenders ousted and inflict the first all out of the game. What seemed to be a doubtful call, an official review was invoked and after multiple replays, the TV umpire ruled in favour of Bengaluru.
What should have been 2 points to Delhi, ended up being 4 to the Bulls and that in defender Amit Chillar’s opinion changed the complexion, “First Kashi’s raid and then this, we could have had taken the lead but that didn’t happen. I saw the replays later and in my opinion he was definitely out. The 8-point gap that opened up after that proved to be too much for us.”
Asserting how the decision however wouldn’t disrupt their momentum, he added, “It’s part of the game though. Even during practice today, our coached emphasized on maintaining our cool and staying focused on the games to come. We won’t let the loss deter us.”
Buoyant as he sounds, only time will tell if the team can actually shrug off the loss and return to winning ways against the defending champions tomorrow.