Pro Kabaddi League: Dabang Delhi KC defeat Jaipur Pink Panthers

Pro Kabaddi League 2018: In front of a capacity crowd at the NSCI in Worli, Naveen Kumar (10 points), Meraj Sheykh (9 points) and Chandran Ranjit (8 points) emerged as the heroes for the Delhi side.

Dabang Delhi KC put up a spirited show as they trounced Jaipur Pink Panthers 40-29 in their Pro Kabaddi League ((PKL) match at Mumbai Sunday. In front of a capacity crowd at the NSCI in Worli, Naveen Kumar (10 points), Meraj Sheykh (9 points) and Chandran Ranjit (8 points) emerged as the heroes for the Delhi side. Joginder Narwal (5 points) was the top-defender for Delhi. However, it was initially a close contest as Jaipur led 5-3 after the first seven minutes, with some superb defence and tackling. It soon became 8-3 as their raider Deepak Hooda (15 points) continued his successful raids. When it seemed that Jaipur was inching ahead, Delhi hit back with a `Super Raid' by Meraj Sheykh, which earned them three points to make it 10-10. The `Super Raid' seemed to have instilled confidence in the Delhi team as they inflicted an `all-out' and went marginally ahead. Delhi was on the upswing as Sheykh again did a successful raid and earned two points. But then Jaipurs Deepak Hooda earned crucial 2 points for his side to reduce the deficit. At the half-time, Delhi had a slender lead of 20-16. After the break, Delhi again with some successful raids and breath-taking tackles increased their lead to 24-17. But Jaipur, with some successful raids, were inching back into the game as they reduced the deficit to 21-26, with 12 minutes for the final whistle. But Delhi always had an upper hand and Chandran Ranjit earned two points to make it 28-21 in their favour. Then Naveen Kumar inflicted more agony on the opposition as Delhi cruised ahead. Then, there was no stopping Delhi, as they inflicted another all-out, the second of the match, to make it 38-23, with just over five minutes remaining in the game. From there, it was too little and too late for Jaipur to come back into the game, as they slumped to their seventh defeat in nine games.