Pro Kabaddi 2019, Dabang Delhi vs Tamil Thalaivas: Naveen's brilliant performance wins the night for Dabang Delhi
The table-toppers Dabang Delhi added yet another feather to their cap after clinching a commanding 50-34 victory over the Tamil Thalaivas in brilliant fashion at the Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose Indoor Stadium in Kolkata on Sunday.
Naveen Kumar was impeccable in this Pro Kabaddi 2019 clash, garnering a total of 17 raid points. Both Meraj Sheykh and Vijay also did a splendid job for the winners.
On the other hand, Rahul Chaudhari completed his Super 10 despite his team's miserable loss. Ajith V Kumar, who contributed heavily for the Thalaivas, fell short of a single point to complete his Super 10.
Read to find out how the highly-anticipated 80th encounter of PKL 2019 between Naveen Kumar's Dabang Delhi and Ajay Thakur's Tamil Thalaivas unfolded itself at the Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose Indoor Stadium in Kolkata:
Arjuna Awardee Ajay Thakur started for the Thalaivas and came back sans any point. Naveen Kumar, the young prodigy, was immediately tackled by the Thalaivas' defense in his very first raid. Vijay, the former Patna Pirates player, opened the account for Delhi with a swift hand touch.
Goyat, in his usual form, looked unstoppable. Tamil Thalaivas, with a sloppy game, suffered an ill-fated all-out in just nine minutes, hence giving Delhi a lead of 7 points.
Manjeet Chhillar, the one-man army, demanded a review opposing the referee's decision in the eleventh minute, which was declared unsuccessful, much to the displeasure of his team. Strangely enough, neither the offense nor defense seemed to work out for the Chennai-based franchise.
Asking for two touch points instead of one, Goyat took a review, which turned out to be successful. The Thalaivas then conceded yet another all-out under 20 minutes. At half-time, the Delhi team led by a huge margin of twelve points at 24-12.
As the other half kicked off, Goyat stole a quick point and completed his 12th consecutive Super 10 of the season. Meraj Sheykh, who found his long lost form, performed a beautiful Super Raid for the Delhi-based franchise.
After a long gap, Ran Singh pitched in a laudable two-pointer for the green-yellow clad franchise. Delhi inflicted a third all-out on the opponents, hence increasing the lead to nine points.
Sheykh, with a dazzling game, completed his first Super 10 of the season. As time ticked away, Delhi grasped on the already huge lead harder. The Thalaivas, on the other hand, had only a single defense point after 30 minutes.
Rahul Chaudhari, the showman, completed his Super 10 after ages. He along with Ajith pitched in points for the drowning Thalaivas like lone warriors.
In the offense-heavy encounter, multiple bonuses were picked up by the raiders of both the squads. Ultimately, the first match of the night ended with Dabang Delhi securing the victory with the score of 50-34. The Delhi-based franchise became the first team to reach the 50-point mark in PKL 2019.
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