Experts slam Dabang Delhi's tepid defence after big loss to Jaipur Pink Panthers

The defeat was Delhi's seventh defeat in PKL season 9.

Dabang Delhi KC lost a one-sided match against Jaipur Pink Panthers (32-57) which is the highest-scoring match to date in Pro Kabaddi League (PKL) season 9. Vijay Malik made a good comeback from injury scoring a Super 10 in his first encounter itself and had taken no time to settle but that couldn't prevent Dabang Delhi’s defeat.

Naveen “Express” and Ashu Malik who were scoring the bulk of the raid points in the previous matches failed to perform against a strong defensive lineup of Sunil Kumar and Ankush both scoring four tackle points each. Jaipur played as a team with both the raiders and defenders scoring points in tandem and helping out each other. This is the second time in 13 matches that Naveen Kumar has failed to score a super 10 in PKL season 9.

Khel Now experts felt it was the defence of Dabang Delhi KC that contributed more to the defeat than the raiders. Although both Naveen and Ashu failed to score, Vijay Malik was in good form and scored a super 10. Dabang Delhi won against Telugu Titans in the last match because Telugu Titans' defensive unit was poor compared to Delhi. But when Dabang Delhi has to play against tougher opponents like Jaipur then the scenario changes completely which was visible on Saturday.

Khel Now experts react to Dabang Delhi KC's defeat to Jaipur Pink Panthers

Mohit Chillar said ”all the defenders from Dabang Delhi had more unsuccessful tackles than the points they scored. Ravi Kumar had one point and five unsuccessful tackles. Vishal had one point and seven unsuccessful tackles. Krishan Hooda had three points and six unsuccessful tackles, and Vijay Kumar had two points and four unsuccessful tackles.

Looking at their performances, it is quite evident that the defensive unit has not lived up to expectations. The raiders cannot keep getting points always and they require defenders to score points to boost their confidence as well.

“I remember Sagar scoring tackle points from super tackle situations. That was the turning point for Tamil Thalaivas winning a game in season 9. Similarly, the defenders need to step up and score," said Mohit Chhillar.

Preetam Chillar asserted that “ It was Rahul Chaudhari’s four-point super raid that tilted the match in Jaipur Pink Panthers favour form where the team did not look back even once.”