PKL 8: Delhi share spoil with Bengal, Patna Pirates register big win

This is the Dabang's second draw in a row.

Defending champions Bengal Warriors held Dabang Delhi K.C to an entertaining 39-39 tie in Match 106 of vivo Pro Kabaddi League (PKL) Season 8. The Delhi team thought they had won the match when Naveen Kumar picked a 3-point Super Raid in the final minute, but Manjeet Chhillar’s unsuccessful tackle allowed Bengal to stay in the match and secure a tie. 

Maninder Singh was the best performer for Bengal with 16 points while Naveen Kumar got 16 for Delhi. The result will not help Bengal as they struggle to stay in contention for a playoff spot. Delhi will also be upset after they lost a chance to secure all 5 points and push for a Top 2 finish in the league.

The first half was a cagey affair with Bengal dominating the early minutes. The defending champions showed they were no easy pushovers with captain Maninder Singh milking easy points from an unsettled Delhi defence. Jeeva Kumar struggled in the cover position while Delhi’s corner combination of Joginder Narwal and Sandeep Narwal also lacked cohesion. Maninder Singh took both the corners out with a 2-point raid in the 4th minute.

The move initiated Bengal's push for an ALL OUT which they clinched in the 7th minute. The Warriors could not cling on to the 4-point lead however with Delhi immediately staging a fightback. Vijay supported Naveen Kumar in the raids while their defence immediately tackled Maninder Singh. With Mohammad Nabibakhsh not in the line-up, Bengal struggled to revive Maninder Singh. That allowed Delhi to control the proceedings and they secured an ALL OUT in the last minute before the interval to take a lead. The first half ended with the scores 19-18 in favour of Delhi.

Just like the first half, the early minutes of the second half was controlled by the Warriors. Maninder Singh went about picking his points as Bengal got closer to inflicting another ALL OUT. Joginder Narwal’s brilliant wrist hold on Maninder Singh could only delay the inevitable as Bengal secured the ALL OUT in the 8th minute after the interval.

Maninder scored a Super 10 but Delhi were still within touching distance thanks to the numerous Bonus Points they had picked up. Dabang levelled the scores with 10 minutes on the clock. Delhi came close to inflicting an ALL OUT on Bengal in the minutes that followed but Amit Narwal’s Super Tackle helped Bengal regain some momentum.

Naveen Kumar picked his Super 10 and then clinched a massive 3-point Super Raid to completely shift the balance of the match. That gave Delhi a 1-point lead and chance to inflict an ALL OUT, but Rohit pulled off a 2-point raid to rescue Bengal. Naveen managed to get a quick point to level the scores once again, but Bengal prevented an ALL OUT in the final raid to settle for a tie.

Pirates are now on a five-match winning streak

Guman Singh was the star for Patna Pirates as they beat Puneri Paltan 46-23 in Match 107 of (PKL) Season 8. The raider scored 13 points for the three-time champions as they clinched a playoff berth with the victory (the first team to do so). The table-toppers were made to sweat for their points in the first half by a resilient Pune side, but they switched gears in the second to decimate the men in orange. Aslam Inamdar scored 9 points for coach Anup Kumar’s Pune, but all his points came in the first half.

Patna had just a 1-point advantage at half time but two second-half ALL OUTs helped them increase that to 16 points by the final whistle. Pune started the match on the front foot with the raiding duo of Aslam Inamdar and Mohit looking in red-hot form. They got the better of the Patna raiders while at the other end Pune tightened the defence with Vishal Bhardwaj returning to the left corner position. Pune was closing in on a well-earned ALL OUT when tragedy struck them – 4 of their defenders followed Patna raider Sachin into the lobby without a touch.

The stroke of luck helped Patna gain the upper hand and they clinched an ALL OUT in the 17th minute. Guman Singh’s 3-point Super Raid increased their lead, but Aslam Inamdar immediately changed the complexion of the game with a massive 4-point Super Raid for Pune. The neck-to-neck first half ended 18-17 with Patna holding on to a slender lead.

The early part of the second half was played with caution as both teams sized each other up. The defenders slowly started getting into the game while the raiders slowed the pace down. Patna maintained a 3-point lead with 10 minutes on the clock, but Pune knew one big raid could change their fortunes.

But Guman Singh’s 2-point raid ensured there wasn’t any immediate Pune fightback. The Pirates followed that athletic raid by producing a team tackle on Nitin Tomar to claw him away before his hand crossed the mid-line. That gave the Pirates an ALL OUT and a 7-point lead with five minutes remaining.

Guman Singh got his Super 10 as Patna opened a 10-point lead with 2 minutes remaining. Their defender Mohammadreza Shadloui marshalled his unit as they clinched another ALL OUT through Sachin’s 2-point raid. That gave Patna Pirates a 16-point lead and helped them seal the win. The victory also guaranteed a place into the vivo PKL season 8’s playoffs for coach Ram Mehar Singh’s Pirates.

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