Dabang Delhi defeats Puneri Paltan in the battle for honour
25th August, Bengaluru:
The last time that the Pune and Delhi teams faced off against each other it was the fifth match of the Star Sports Pro Kabaddi League. Having crossed seven cities and nearing its conclusive stages, Puneri Paltan and Dabang Delhi were set to challenge each other in a foreign territory yet again. Though this match would not have any impact on the League table, it was all set to be a spectacle nonetheless.
The first half being completely dominated by the men in Red and Blue, the Puneri Paltan looked visibly distraught. Though their raids were above average, their sloppy defence cost them dearly.
The second half was even worse for Pune as nothing worked for them and Delhi handed them an embarrassing defeat, 45-22.
Delhi got off to a flying start as Kashiling Adake ousted three Pune players one after the other. Following it up, Surjeet Narwal overthrew Jitesh Joshi, and the famed Delhi defence finished the task for their team. Pune were forced to concede the first LONA points without even opening their account.
The best raider for Pune the last time that these two met, Wazir Singh, decided to encourage his boys by taking down Jasmer Singh and Nitin More in two consecutive raids, giving them the much needed boost. Successfully completing his seventh raid of the day, Kashiling helped Delhi to a 10-point lead in the 14th minute.
A necessary break for the Puneri Paltan came when they sent Surjeet Narwal and Amit Singh packing, one following the other. Ending the first half on a high by capturing Wazir Singh, Dabang Delhi dominated the scores 20-10.
After a few empty raids, Kashiling upped the ante for Delhi yet again, scoring a two-point raid and sending Jitesh Joshi and Swapnil Shinde back to the bench. Within a matter of seconds Pune gave away second set of LONA points, allowing Delhi a lead of 17 points in the 25th minute. Delhi's renowned defence displayed its brilliance yet again as a well-timed tackle by Amit Singh caught Manoj Kumar off guard.
An infuriated Wazir Singh had to leave the field of play with a yellow card, leaving Pune in a spot of bother as they trailed by 20 points with just four minutes to go. With an encore of the first-half, Delhi ended the game with another set of LONA points, winning the game by 23 points.