The team from the North, i.e., Dabang Delhi, had come to the Mumbai leg of PKL 2019 riding on two wins. The Steelers too had notched up a win before the Mumbai leg. They defeated Anup Kumar's Puneri Paltan to register a win. The two Naveens from Haryana and Delhi were all set to lock horns with each other in a heated face-off.
Read to find out how the anticipated battle between Dabang Delhi and Haryana Steelers proceeded at the Dome NSCI in Mumbai.
Starting 7s
Dabang Delhi K.C: Joginder Singh Narwal, Chandran Ranjit, Naveen Kumar, Vishal Mane, Ravinder Pahal, Saeid Ghaffari, Meraj Sheykh
Haryana Steelers: Dharmaraj Cheralathan, Naveen, Selvamani K, Vinay, Vikas Kale, Parveen, Kuldeep Singh
Toss
Haryana Steelers won the toss and chose the court.
Chandran Ranjit started out for the Dabangs and returned after sending Cheralathan off the mat. Naveen also swiftly hand-touched Joginder Narwal and bagged a point for the Steelers. It was a fast-paced match since the very beginning and Delhi made an impressive start.
Naveen, the young prodigy, who made a mind-blowing debut for Delhi last season, went out for a brilliant raid and escaped the opponent's court with a two-pointer. Due to a rookie error from Vishal Mane, he gave away Haryana two points. With twelve minutes down in the face-off, the score 9-7 was tilted in Delhi's direction.
Reduced to just three players in the 14th minute, Delhi initiated a super-tackle, which was then challenged by the Steelers. Unfortunately, Haryana lost it. At half-time, the score 15-10 was in favour of the Dabangs of Delhi.
Dharmaraj Cheralathan completed his 400 tackle points milestone, right before the first-half ended. Right after the first half commenced, Naveen Kumar sent Vikram Kandola and Kuldeep Singh to the bench, scoring two points for his squad. These two points helped him complete his 200 points in the Pro Kabaddi League.
In the 24th minute of the clash, Haryana suffered an all-out. The scoreboard displayed 22-12, with Delhi leading. In under four minutes, Delhi once again successfully initiated a second all-out on the rivals, holding a huge lead of 14 points, i.e., 29-15.
Naveen, the prowess from the Dabangs, also completed his ten points with a top-class display. However, as the minutes passed, the Steelers started to drown in an even bigger problem.
Both Chandran Ranjit and Naveen from Delhi's squad did a laudable job by scoring super tens and pitching in points when required. Delhi annihilated the Steelers with their impeccable offense and defense. The team players worked in proper coordination and helped the team win the match 41-21 for their third consecutive triumph of the season.
On the other hand, nothing worked out for the Steelers. Naveen fell short of just one point of completing his super ten. Also, the defenders of Haryana failed to keep any raider from Delhi at bay. The Steelers require to take special care for their upcoming matches if they want to survive in the toughest season of the Pro Kabaddi League.
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