PKL 9: Dabang Delhi suffer fifth straight defeat, Paltan and Steelers win

Defending champions' bad form continues.

Puneri Paltan put up a clinical performance in front of a packed Shree Shivchhatrapati Sports Complex in Pune leg of Pro Kabaddi League (PKL) season 9, to register a 43-38 win over Dabang Delhi K.C. in the first game of the evening on Tuesday. Akash Shinde and Mohit Goyat both got 13 points in a super performance while Fazel Atrachali's impeccable defending ensured the home team condemned Delhi to a fifth straight loss of PKL 9.  

After trading a pair of empty raids, on a DO OR DIE raid, Mohit Goyat brought the Pune crowd to its feet, with a SUPER RAID to touch out Krishan, Anil Kumar, Vijay Kumar, which put the Paltans in the lead. That single raid set the tone for a majority of the half, as Paltan ran riot on a porous Delhi defence low on confidence. The first ALL OUT came in the first five minutes, as Pune extended their lead to 10-3. 

Despite a slow building Delhi resistance, Paltan got a second ALL OUT to surge into a huge lead and seemingly locked up the game. Dabang Delhi were out of sorts, and with the crowd firmly behind the home team, looked up against it completely. Slowly though, they clawed back the lead, Naveen Kumar finding his feet to catch out Fazel Atrachali and Gaurav Khatri to bring them back into the game. They went into the break trailing 23-17, but with only two Pune players left on the mat. 

Delhi reduced the gap with an ALL OUT of their own, reducing the lead to three points and from there, it was a game too close to call. Akash Shinde's SUPER RAID on Anil Kumar, Vijay Kumar and Ravi Kumar wrested back Pune's initiative. Within minutes though, Delhi's captain and the league's leading raider Naveen, finding a SUPER TACKLE out of nowhere to get Delhi back in the game.

However, Paltan's third ALL OUT of the evening thrust them into a 35-29 lead. The Puneri players kept their cool in the key moments to take the win in front of a raucous home crowd.

PKL 9 Day 22 Match 2: Bengaluru Bulls vs Haryana Steelers

Haryana Steelers stunned table-toppers Bengaluru Bulls at the Shree Shivchhatrapati Sports Complex, Balewadi, Pune on Tuesday in PKL 9. The Haryana side pulled off a 29-27 win in a thrilling low-scoring contest. The defensive unit led by Amirhossen Bastami, who earned 5 points in the match, stole the show on the night as they kept Bharat and Vikash Kandola out for most of the game and opened up the doors for their team to get the big win. 

Haryana Steelers opened the scoring in the match with Manjeet earning a bonus point. Minutes later, Meetu earned a SUPER RAID to give his team a three-point lead. But Bengaluru Bulls' frontman Bharat earned a SUPER RAID to reduce the gap. Just when it looked like the Bulls might be able to cover the deficit, Amirhossein caught hold of Bharat and the Steelers took control of the proceedings.

However, Mahender Singh caught hold of Meetu and Saurabh Nandal caught Manjeet as the gap was reduced to just one point between the two teams. A defensive error from left corner Aman opened the doors for Haryana once again as Meetu earned another raid point to give his side back the three-point lead. At the stroke of halftime, Rakesh Narwal earned a SUPER RAID and Haryana Steelers went into halftime with a 13-9 lead.

Haryana Steelers inflicted an ALL OUT on Bengaluru Bulls at the start of the second half, and they increased their lead by six points. A defensive error from Jaideep allowed Bharat to get a raid point back for his team as Bulls showcased that they will not go down without a fight. But Amirhossein caught Vikash and Bharat with consecutive tackles to ensure Haryana maintain a stronghold of the match.

Neeraj Narwal produced a solid dive to get a touch on Amirhossein and get a point back for Bengaluru. A couple of minutes later, Sachin Narwal earned a SUPER RAID as Bulls reduced the deficit to just four points, hinting at another potential comeback. But a SUPER TACKLE by Manjeet on Bharat again gave Steelers a six-point lead. Manjeet earned a raid point in the final minute of the match as the Haryana Steelers won the thriller 29-27.

Award Winners of the Night:

Match 1: Puneri Paltan vs Dabang Delhi K.C.

vivo Perfect Player of the Match - Akash Shinde (Puneri Paltan)

Dream 11 Gamechanger of the Match - Fazel Atrachali (Puneri Paltan)

Moment of the Match - Mohit Goyat (Puneri Paltan)

Match 2: Haryana Steelers vs Bengaluru Bulls

vivo Perfect Player of the Match - Meetu Sharma (Haryana Steelers)

Dream 11 Gamechanger of the Match - Amirhossein Bastami (Haryana Steelers)

Moment of the Match - Meetu Sharma (Haryana Steelers)