The inter zonal challenge week continued in the Delhi leg of the Pro Kabaddi League 2018 as the home side Dabang Delhi KC took to the mat against the Bengaluru Bulls at the Thyagaraj Indoor Stadium in Delhi.
Dabang Delhi KC came into the match on the back of a strong win over the Telugu Titans and were in high spirits. Bengaluru Bulls came after a considerable break after their 'home' leg in Pune and aimed to keep their top spot in the Zone B and ensure qualification to the playoffs.
Dabang Delhi KC got another win at their home turf as they beat the Bengaluru Bulls with a 32-31 scoreline after a strong performance by Meraj Sheykh and Chandran Ranjit.
The first half of the match started off with Dabang Delhi KC dominating on the mat, courtesy of a strong raiding from Meraj Sheykh and Chandran Ranjit. They got an early all-out in the match but the Bulls did well to cut back the lead. Pawan Kumar Sehrawat pulled off a couple of good raids as the Bulls trailed by four points with the score at 14-10 in favour of the Dabang Delhi KC side at the half-time.
The second half saw the Bengaluru Bulls start off strong as Rohit Kumar and Pawan Kumar Sehrawat pulled the lead back. Delhi's Meraj Sheykh took Delhi back into a sizeable lead after a Super Raid inflicted all-out on the Bulls. The Bulls' raiding duo kept pushing and in the end, got them very close, losing out by one point at the buzzer.
Here are the player ratings from the clash:
Dabang Delhi KC
Joginder Narwal - (3/10)
The Dabang Delhi KC captain had a poor outing tonight, picking up a lone tackle point in the second half. He mistimed a lot of tackles but was a strong presence in the backline.
Ravinder Pahal - (5/10)
The right corner man for the Dabang Delhi KC side was in good touch against the Bulls' raiders locking in his double thigh holds. He finished with three tackle points in the end.
Rajesh Narwal - (2/10)
The all-rounder had a woeful first half with his mistakes in the cover position and was subbed out at the end to be replaced by Satpal Narwal.
Vishal Mane - (3/10)
The burly cover defender had one tackle point tonight with a strong block on Pawan Sehrawat but was ineffective with his tackles.
Naveen Kumar - (4/10)
The young raider of the Delhi side had a quiet first half as he was kept in check by the Bulls' defence getting just two points. He added a couple more points in the first half finishing with four raid points.
Meraj Sheykh - (7/10)
The Iranian all-rounder had just two points in the first half putting in a lot of empty raids. However, he was the difference in the second half for Delhi with six raid points, including a Super Raid to get the all-out on the Bulls.
Chandran Ranjit - (8.5/10)
The Delhi raider showed his entire raiding arsenal tonight, scoring with hand touches and kicks, keeping the Bulls' defence mystified. He finished with seven raid points and even got a Super Tackle in the second half.
Substitutes:
Anil Kumar - (3/10)
The defender came on in the first half to replace Rajesh Narwal and picked up one tackle point before he was back on the bench.
Satpal Narwal - (4/10)
The substitute came off the bench to score a couple of tackle points in the cover position.
Bengaluru Bulls
Rohit Kumar - (8.5/10)
The Bengaluru Bulls' skipper had just one bonus point in the first half struggling against the Delhi defenders. He picked up the pace in the second half of the match and scored a Super 10 to clinch one point for the Bulls from the match.
Pawan Kumar Sehrawat - (8/10)
The feisty raider had an eventful match tonight as he kept the Delhi defence on their toes throughout. He had an injury scare in the second half but recovered well to pick up nine raid points and had one tackle point as well.
Anand V - (4/10)
The third raider for the Bulls took the place of Kashiling Adake in the starting lineup. He had a quiet outing scoring just two raid points including one bonus point.
Ashish Kumar Sangwan - (4/10)
The all-rounder had a couple of points in the first half with one tackle and a bonus point. However, he failed to make an impact and was subbed off at the end of the first half.
Mahender Singh - (2/10)
The young cover defender had a poor outing tonight failing to pick a tackle and was benched for the second half by the coach.
Raju Lal Choudhary - (2/10)
The right corner Raju Lal Choudhary was wasteful with his tackle attempts and conceded a few raid points and gave away easy bonus points to the Delhi raiders. He scored one tackle point at the end of the match with a strong ankle hold.
Amit Sheoran - (4/10)
The youngster put in a decent performance on the left corner position of the Bengaluru Bulls' defensive setup. He picked up a couple of tackling points with his ankle holds on the Delhi raiders.