FACE2NEWS/BENGALURU
Dabang Delhi put together a five-star performance to beat Telugu Titans 46-26 in the second game of the day at the Shree Kanteerava Indoor Stadium on Saturday. Dabang Delhi rode on the raiding of Naveen Kumar (12 points), Manjeet (9 points) and a superb defensive performance by Ravi Kumar and Ashu Malik to inflict a crushing defeat on the Titans and stay unbeaten this season.
(MOREPIC1) The pre-match build-up had built the match up as a clash between the Titans defence and the Delhi offence, but within minutes it was clear that Dabang Delhi were not taking their defensive duties lightly. They raced into a 7-point lead before the Titans could even open their account. With barely six minutes gone, Delhi had already inflicted the first all out of the match, taking a 11-2 lead.
The Titans regrouped, but Delhi, and in particular Naveen's ability to keep collecting bonus points and Manjeet's razor-sharp raid, meant their lead was never truly challenged. It wasn't just the Dabang raiders though, and the statistics laid bare the brilliance of their all-round performance. Dabang had eight tackle points in the first half, compared to the Titans' one. And they went into the break holding a deserved lead at 24-10.
Telugu Titans' substitute Mohsen Maghsoudlou offered them a ray of hope as the second half began. On a do-or-die raid, the Iranian managed to get the Titans a crucial point to chip away at the lead.
Immediately though, Delhi snatched back the initiative. Manjeet, on his very next foray initiated a super rain, touching out Nitin, Mohit and Mohsen. The lone man standing, Vinay, was caught out as the team from the capital city inflicted their second all out to take a massive lead at 30-12.
Despite the huge lead, Delhi did not slow down, and at the other end the Titans' errors kept coming. By the end, it was just a matter of not how or when but by how much Delhi would win. The answer was 20 points, the second time they inflicted this margin on an opponent this season.
Jaipur Pink Panthers record hat-trick of victories
Jaipur Pink Panthers put up a calm and collective performance to defeat Gujarat Giants 25-18 in the vivo Pro Kabaddi League Season 9 at the Shree Kanteerava Indoor Stadium in Bengaluru on Saturday. This is the Panthers' third successive victory in the ongoing season. Raiders Rahul Chaudhari and Arjun Deshwal picked up 9 points between them, while they were backed spectacularly by their defense unit.
Defenders Sahul Kumar and Ankush pulled off some fantastic tackle points as Jaipur inched ahead at 6-3 in the 6th minute. The Giants tackled V Ajith to stay in the game, but the Jaipur defense continued to showcase top form and helped their team keep their noses in front. Rahul Chaudhari effected a brilliant raid in the 12th minute as Jaipur widened their lead at 10-5. Giants' Rakesh tried to change his team's fortunes, but he found it hard to breach the Jaipur defense on a consistent basis as the Panthers held a three-point lead at 12-9 in the end of the first half.
The Giants showed more urgency in the second half, tackling Arjun Deshwal, but Gujarat's Dong Geon Lee was caught soon after as the Panthers continued to dominate the proceedings at 13-10. Defender Abhishek KS also joined the party to put the Panthers into a fantastic position at 17-12 in the 30th minute. Bhavani Rajput effected a couple of brilliant raids in the last few minutes of the match as Jaipur continued to hold the lead at 22-17. The Jaipur raiders treaded carefully in the last minute and closed out a comprehensive victory in the end.
