PKL 10: Dabang Delhi's road to playoffs

Despite losing Naveen Kumar to injury midway through the season, the team still succeeded in qualifying for the playoffs.

In season ten of the Pro Kabaddi League, Dabang Delhi emerged as the third team to secure a postseason berth. Although they anticipated sealing during their home leg, things didn’t exactly work out as planned. However, the inevitable has happened as the season eight champions will be gunning for their second PKL title.

With the youthful blood of Yogesh and the seasoned Vishal Bharadwaj protecting it, the defense has been impenetrable. Their Raiding section has been the cause for concern. Despite having a fantastic tournament, Ashu Malik hasn’t had much help from his teammates. Although Naveen’s injury has created a significant void, Delhi hopes to emulate the Bengal Warriors’ feat of winning the championship while Maninder Singh was sidelined.

As teams prepare to face each other, let’s look back at their journey to Hyderabad.

First Half Of The Season: Mixed Start

Dabang Delhi had a topsy-turvy start to the season as they struggled to put two wins together in their first seven games. But irrespective of the team results, one man was unstoppable as Naveen Express was on his way to achieving something special this season. He was scoring super 10 in every game that he played until a knee injury against Jaipur Pink Panthers ruled him out of the tournament.

It was a huge blow considering it was their skipper and primary Raider. And ironically in the game, the season eight champions gave away a 15-point lead to end the game in a tie. Just when it looked downhill, Ashu Malik took up the responsibility on his shoulders as he started unleashing his potential against quality defensive units with the likes of Gujarat Giants and Patna Pirates struggling to find a way to stop this man.

Second Half Of The Season: Building Consistency

It was Ashu Malik all the way in the second half of the season as he scored seven consecutive Super 10s. Although he couldn’t do it in the next two games, he came back by scoring 35 points in Delhi’s last two league games. Delhi’s defense found the much-needed consistency in the second half which has made them a strong squad.

The corner combination of Ashish and Yogesh has been a delight to watch as the opposition Raiders think twice before making a bonus point attempt under their eyes. The veteran Vishal Bharadwaj has shown his class, coming in as super subs and delivering goods every time. He along with Vikrant has made this defense a complete package. They have finished third in the points table with 79 points.

Home leg:

Dabang Delhi were in wonderful form coming into their home leg having lost just one game in their last nine games. But they had a shocking start to their home leg as they lost to Bengal Warriors. Although they came back to win against Telugu Titans, the team from the capital city couldn’t take away five points from Jaipur and Patna from their home leg.

The season eight champions lacked a quality backup Raiders which is a requirement. The strong defense and Ashu have won their games, but against top sides like Jaipur and Pune, they need the backup Raiders to stem the follow of collapses. They lacked it in their home leg and the team would need it if they wanted to challenge top sides in the playoffs.

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