Dabang Delhi K.c. Vs Jaipur Pink Panthers 21 December 2024

FULL TIME 40' Dabang Delhi KC 33-31 Jaipur Pink Panthers

Dabang Delhi get closer to a top-2 spot and a place in the semi finals!

With this win, they have also equaled Puneri Paltan's record for the longest unbeaten streak as they extend their unbeaten run to 14 games.

In doing so, they have moved from number 4 to number 3 in the points table and will only need a tie in their final game to get into the top-2.

It was all down to the final raid from Arjun Deshwal with Jaipur behind by just the 1 point. He went deep towards the left corner, threw a kick and slipped out of his grasp, ran towards the midline and was just about dashed out by the right cover as he got his hand across the midline but he was airborne and the officials ruled it in Delhi's favor, such fine margins in this game of Kabaddi that we all love.

It was the regulars, the ones who were expected to do the scoring, with all the big play in this one. Ashu Malik, got yet another Super-10, Super-10 number 17 for the season for the Delhi skipper as he ended the night with 12 raid points to his name. Arjun Deshwal got 10 points as well while Naveen Kumar and Abhijeet Malik provided good support with 6 raid points each.

In defense, Ankush Rathee snapped up 4 tackle points in the Panther's left corner and was the best defender in the match.

Overall, it was a game of slim margins and it was Dabang Delhi yet again who held their nerves and got past the finish line. 

With that, time for Sourabh to take your leave. Good night and good bye!

39' Dabang Delhi KC 32-30 Jaipur Pink Panthers

Naveen gets one and then Reza, the defender, gets one touch point. 45 seconds to go and there are 3 men on court for Jaipur. We don't know what is going to happen

39' Dabang Delhi KC 31-29 Jaipur Pink Panthers

Ashu Malik gets a touch point and then Abhijeet Malik gets tackled, here is the importance of the support raider. 100 seconds to go in the game, Delhi in front as Panthers are down to 3

38' Dabang Delhi KC 29-29 Jaipur Pink Panthers

Naveen bulldozes through Surjeet and slips away using his lower body, the deficit was down to 1 and just then an ironclad ankle hold from the left corner saw Arjun Deshwal going off the bench. This is a cliffhnager, back level again!

36' Dabang Delhi KC 27-29 Jaipur Pink Panthers

Panthers are turning it on at the right time! Arjun got a touch point and then Ankush Rathee dived for the ankles of the big man Ashu Malik and sent him to the bench

35' Dabang Delhi KC 27-27 Jaipur Pink Panthers

Panthers squander an all-out opportunity but get it on the second attempt! Arjun reduced Delhi to just 1 man in Ashish Narwal who got a running hand touch on right-corner Lucky Sharma. Then, Arjun did his job yet again with a touch and this time Reza was too good for the raider. Scores level with 5 minutes to go, who saw that coming?

32' Dabang Delhi KC 24-22 Jaipur Pink Panthers

The teams were happy to play on do-or-die with a defense of 5 and it is Abhijeet Malik who has a big couple of plays. First he gets a successful tackle on Mohit and then goes in to raid himself and gets two crucial raid points, Delhi down to 2 men

30' Dabang Delhi KC 24-19 Jaipur Pink Panthers

Another sequence of do-or-die raids for the two teams and finally the defense of both the teams respond! First, Naveen gets blocked by Surjeet and then Sombir Mehra goes deep in the left only for his ankles to be held firmly by left-corner Ashish. We're at the final strategic break with a 5-point lead for Delhi, 5 men on court for both teams as well

28' Dabang Delhi KC 23-18 Jaipur Pink Panthers

3 men combine to contain Ashu in a do-or-die raid and that is another super tackle for the Panthers! Sombir Mehra was then tasked with another do-or-die and he got a brilliant running hand touch on the right corner, are the Panthers coming back?

25' Dabang Delhi KC 23-15 Jaipur Pink Panthers

Sombir gets Gaurav Chillar in an advanced tackle and revives Arjun Deshwal. A few empty raids brings about a sequence of do-or-die raids for both the teams. Delhi sub-in Mohit who gets a touch on Reza who went in for an advanced tackle and then the big one followed as Arjun Deshwal had two attempts at the bonus and did not get it on either of those. Panthers reviewed it and lost their review and are now down to 3 men

21' Dabang Delhi KC 21-14 Jaipur Pink Panthers

Naveen enters the lobby without a touch as Reza was coming from behind to tackle him and that is a bonus super tackle for the Panthers!

HALF TIME 20' Dabang Delhi KC 21-12 Jaipur Pink Panthers

Dabang Delhi have a 9-point lead at the halftime mark! In the final minute, Abhijeet Malik was tackled by the Delhi defense to reduce the Panthers to 3 men and then a couple of empty raids closed the half.

But, the half belonged completely to the raiders, specially to Ashu Malik who has already got to a Super-10, his 17th of the season and is wreaking havoc on the Panthers' defense.

Naveen Kumar has provided support with 4 raid points but that kind of support has been missing for Arjun Deshwal who has fought a lone battle for the Panthers and has got 7 raid points so far.

Just the 4 tackle points in the half so far from across the mat, it has been a nightmare for the defenders.

Can Dabang Delhi keep going and get close a top-2 finish or will the Panther make a comeback? Second half coming up

19' Dabang Delhi KC 20-12 Jaipur Pink Panthers

Ashu though continues his stellar run and gets past the clutches of the left corner in a do-or-die corner, he gets a Super-10 in just 19 minutes

17' Dabang Delhi KC 19-12 Jaipur Pink Panthers

Arjun falters in a do-or-die raid as he left too much to do in the last few seconds and gets benched for the first time in the match

16' Dabang Delhi KC 18-12 Jaipur Pink Panthers

Ashish Narwal gets a slick toe touch on Ankush Rathee in the left corner as the raiders' party continues

14' Dabang Delhi KC 17-12 Jaipur Pink Panthers

The raiders are putting on a masterclass! Ashu picks a bonus plus touch yet again and then Arjun gets two more touches, there has been just one tackle point each picked up by both the sides so far, such has been the quality of raiding tonight

12' Dabang Delhi KC 15-9 Jaipur Pink Panthers

Naveen kicks the left corner and picks up yet another raid point before Arjun Deshwal shrugs off an attempted ankle hold from the left corner. Post that, Naveen goes past an approaching dash from Surjeet to collect another point

10' Dabang Delhi KC 13-8 Jaipur Pink Panthers

Back-to-back do-do-die raids for both the teams and it is yet again the raiders who produce the goods. First, Ashu Malik jumps up over the right corner who went for his thighs and picked up his 7th raid point already in as many raids and then Arjun Deshwal picked up an easy bonus as we head into the first strategic break. Which defense will turn up?

9' Dabang Delhi KC 12-7 Jaipur Pink Panthers

The defenses are leaking points for both the teams! A 2-pointer each for Ashu and then Abhijeet Malik, the raiders are having a gala time

6' Dabang Delhi KC 10-4 Jaipur Pink Panthers

Ashu Malik cleans up the Panthers! Is there something he cannot do? There were 2 men on court for Jaipur as the star-raider went in, Ankush got his ankles but the support from Lucky Sharma arrived a tad late and that was enough for Ashu to use his strength and get back. Before that, Naveen thrusted himself off a lunging Surjeet's shoulders to get back to the midline

4' Dabang Delhi KC 5-3 Jaipur Pink Panthers

Pink Panthers down to 3 men! Ashu Malik doing the damage yet again for Delhi, he gets a bonus plus a touch on a successful review first and then uses his speed to force Reza out of bounds. In between that was Abhijeet Malik getting captured by the Delhi defense

2' Dabang Delhi KC 1-3 Jaipur Pink Panthers

Arjun gets a touch point and then concedes a touch point! The raid-machine gets going in his first raid but then concedes a soft point close to the mid line on Naveen's first to open his account as well

1' Dabang Delhi KC 0-1 Jaipur Pink Panthers

Ankush 1 - 0 Ashu. The first raid of the match goes in the favor of the Panthers' left corner who eats up the Delhi skipper with a firm ankle hold.

Here is a look at the all-important starting 7s for both the teams for tonight's contest:

Dabang Delhi KC: Gaurav Chillar, Ashish, Yogesh, Naveen Kumar, Ashish Malik, Sandeep, Ashu Malik (C)
Jaipur Pink Panthers: Reza Mirbagheri, Arjun Deshwal (c), Ankush Rathee, Surjeet Singh, Ronak Singh, Abhijeet Malik, Sombir Mehra

Right-raider Sombir Mehra gets a look-in for the Panthers in place of Neeraj Narwal in what is otherwise a pretty stock-standard starting lineup from both the teams

Hello and good evening from Sourabh as I welcome you to Sportskeeda's continued live coverage of PKL 11. It is time for Match 126 which will see Dabang Delhi KC go up against Jaipur Pink Panthers at the Balewadi Sports Complex in Pune.

Both these teams have already secured their berths in the playoffs but now is it all about trying to reach that Top-2 spot which will give the teams a direct entry into the semi-finals. Dabang Delhi have got a fair shot at it with 2 matches left in their league stage. They are currently at number 4 in the table with 71 points from 20 games but a win here could take them straight upto number 2 and that would be the sole aim of the team co-captained by Ashu Malik and Naveen Kumar.

On the other hand, this is the last league game for the Pink Panthers and a win in this game would take them to 74 points but it is difficult to see them finish in the top-2, the 2-time champions have already done well to get to the playoffs. They would want to gather some momentum from this game and a positive result in this one against a top team like Dabang Delhi will hold them in good stead come the playoffs.

Expect this one to be a high-scoring contest as there are plenty of big raiders who will be on the mat from both the sides. Right off the bat are the two skippers of the teams, Ashu Malik and Arjun Deshwal who also happen to be the second best and the third best raider of the season respectively. While Ashu has set the stage on fire everytime he has gone on to the mat and has 227 raid points to his name, Arjun Deshwal is not far too behind as well with 215 raid points of his own. And id that was not enough, there is a certain Naveen Express in the Delhi lineup who has made a wonderful comeback after injury.

The defenders, including Yogesh in the Delhi team and the likes of Ankush Rathee and Reza on the Panthers' side might have a tough time if these mega-starts get going.

For us, the Kabaddi fans, it is going to be yet another entertaining 40-minutes of enthralling battle with two high-quality teams in action. Let's get going!