Pro Kabaddi 2019: Giants beat unbeaten Dabang Delhi 31-26 to complete a hat-trick in Season 7
Gujarat Fortune Giants continued its unbeaten record in the Pro Kabaddi League Season 7 with yet another win against Dabang Delhi. Sunil Kumar and Company spoilt Dabang’s young raider Naveen Kumar’s Super-10 party with an emphatic 31-26 win at Worli, Mumbai on Thursday.
In a see-saw battle, which was dominated by defenders, Giants handed Delhi team its first defeat of the season. In the process, Gujarat Fortune Giants (15) placed itself second in the points tally behind Delhi, who also have 16 points but played one extra game. For a record Giants had beaten UP Yoddha and Bengaluru Bulls in previous encounters.
Once again for the Gujarat Fortune Giants, all-rounders GB More (9) and Rohit Gulia (8) raised the toast. GB More was lethal when it came to raiding. In fact his 33rd-minute raid, where he not only escaped a super tackle but also put Dabang at the gates of all-out changed the course of the match.
In his next raid, More sent back lone defender Saeed Ghaffari on the bench as Gujarat inflicted their first and match’s second all-out.
It also propelled Giants to a healthy 25-20 lead with seven minutes for the final whistle. Couple minutes later More came up with a superb ankle hold against raiding Delhi’s experienced Chandran Ranjit to put the match beyond Dabang’s reach.
Earlier, in the first half Giants started on an explosive note and raced to a 3-0 lead. Giants gradually increased their tally but Delhi managed to keep the pace through Naveen Kumar who had three successful raids.
For the Gujarat team, things changed in the 18th minute when Sachin had an unsuccessful raid followed by Naveen’s acrobatic touchpoint sending substitute Sonu Jaglan back. A minute later, Giants conceded first all-out when Iranian Abolfazl Maghsodloumahali got a bonus but couldn’t escape from Dabang’s defence ring. At half time Gujarat trailed 11-14.
On Friday, Giants will take on hosts U Mumba and stand a good chance to regain the top position.