After a cliffhanger of a game which saw two enthralling raiding performances, one from debutant Suraj Desai of the Telugu Titans and young Naveen Kumar from Dabang Delhi KC, the latter edged the former to a close out a 1-point victory to open their account in Pro Kabaddi 2019.
In their next assignment, they will take on the Tamil Thalaivas on Thursday, 25th July at the Gachibowli Indoor Stadium, Hyderabad in what is scheduled to be only game for the day.
The low amount of tackle points (7) they managed to generate against the Titans will worry Delhi as they have to take on another raiding powerhouse in the ranks of the Thalaivas.
The Tamil Thalaivas, meanwhile cruised to a victory over the Telugu Titans in their opening fixture with the 'Raid Machine' Rahul Chaudhari leading the way in the raiding department with a Super 10 as a solid Manjeet Chillar performance earned the all-rounder a High 5 in the defensive scheme of things.
Both these sides have the winning momentum and will want to keep it going as they battle it out in a thrilling clash.
Dabang Delhi KC
Key Players: Naveen Kumar, Ravinder Pahal and Meraj Sheykh
Dabang Delhi won the game owing to two crucial all-out points and while they did have a good temperament throughout the game, their defensive work needs some rewiring as they could manage to procure only 7 tackle points, with the Desai brothers running riot.
The fact that they weren't able to tackle Suraj Desai, who picked up a record 18 raid points even once sheds light on defensive uncertainty. Anil Kumar's lackluster show means that he could pave way for Satywan or Saied Ghaffari.
In the raiding department, Naveen Kumar was electric and scored 14 raid points without being tackled even once and stunned the likes of Abozar Mighani with his quick feet movement and brilliant anticipation. While Chandran Ranjit did provid him with decent support with 6 raid points, Meraj Sheykh left a lot to be desired with just two points.
Tamil Thalaivas
Key Players: Rahul Chaudhari, Ajay Thakur and Manjeet Chillar
The Thalaivas probably have the most well-set team combination in the entire league with a very strong starting 7 which showed what it was capable of doing in its very first outing.
Rahul Chaudhari put up a good show in the first match and could well be joined by skipper 'Iceman' Ajay Thakur and Shabber Bapu as the trio can torment the Delhi defense which looked troubled against the Titans. The Thalaivas have good support on the bench from V Ajeet Kumar and this rounds off a stellar raiding unit.
Ran Singh and Mohit Chillar look quite solid in their positions in the left and right corners respectively while Manjeet Chillar was in fine form against the Titans and young Ajeet, who partnered Manjeet in the cover combination did a good job as well.
Predicted starting 7s
Dabang Delhi KC: Joginder Singh Narwal(C), Ravinder Pahal, Vishal Mane, Naveen Kumar, Meraj Sheykh, Chandran Ranjit and Anil Kumar.
Tamil Thalaivas: Ajay Thakur(C), Rahul Chaudhari, Shabber Bapu, Ran Singh, Mohit Chillar, Manjeet Chillar and Ajeet.
Dream 11 Fantasy Tips
Fantasy Suggestion 1: Rahul Chaudhari, Naveen Kumar, Chandran Ranjit, Ran Singh, Manjeet Chillar, Ajeet and Joginder Singh Narwal.
Captain: Rahul Chaudhari Vice- Captain: Naveen Kumar.
Fantasy Suggestion 2: Ajay Thakur, Naveen Kumar, Shabeer Bappu, Meraj Sheykh, Mohit Chillar, Ajeet and Joginder Singh Narwal.
Captain: Naveen Kumar Vice- Captain: Ajay Thakur.
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