Maninder Singh’s 11 points, ably supported by protege Nitin Kumar’s 13 points, made the Bengal Warriors proud with exceptional Super 10s to seal an impressive 38-45 win over the Dabang Delhi K.C in a Season 10 match of the Pro Kabaddi League (PKL) at the Thyagaraj Indoor Stadium on Friday.
A strong start for the home team saw them take the lead in the first half, but they were pegged back by an all-round Bengal Warriors performance despite Ashu Malik’s own Super 10.
Maninder Singh, the Bengal Warriors’ star raider, gave his team the ideal start. The defence of the Bengal Warriors built on this start but skipper Ashu Malik stole crucial points for the Dabang Delhi K.C. side with consecutive raid points. The Dabang Delhi K.C. built on their early start to get the Bengal Warriors All-out just eight minutes into the game.
With a tight two-point deficit, the Bengal Warriors restarted in style as their talisman Maninder Singh and Vishwas S. kept up with the in-form Dabang Delhi K.C. However, Ashu did not let the score settle, constantly pushing their opponents onto the backfoot.
The Dabang Delhi K.C. skipper continued his scintillating form as his team got the Bengal Warriors All-Out for a second time in the first half. The second All-Out meant that the Bengal Warriors had a deficit of six points at the start of the second half.
The Bengal Warriors got off to a flier in the second half, working hard to reduce their deficit from the first half. They earned their first All-Out just three minutes into the second 20 minutes after Ashu Malik completed his SUPER 10. This took them closer to the home side, after which Akshay Kumar tackled the opponent captain and gave his team the lead.
Maninder Singh led his team from the front, and his resilience bore fruit with another ALL OUT giving his team a cushion to lean on. He was ably supported by the young Nitin Kumar, who reached his Super 10 before his captain. Two more All-Out followed for the Dabang Delhi K.C., as the Bengal Warriors raced to a big victory.
The two Super 10s from Maninder and Nitin were enough to close out the game for the Warriors in what was an impressive turnaround for the Kolkata-based Kabaddi team. Meanwhile, the home team faced their first defeat in four games, as the two teams chased a place in the PKL Season 10 Playoffs, to be held from February 26 in Hyderabad.
Haryana Steelers 34-30 Gujarat Giants
A second-half comeback inspired by a brilliant defence saw the Haryana Steelers edge out the Gujarat Giants 34-30 in a Season 10 match of the Pro Kabaddi League.
Mohit and Mohit Nandal’s four points apiece and a defence that took an outstanding 14 tackle points roused the Haryana Steelers to fourth on the table. A resurgent Fazel Atrachali’s seven-point game came in a losing cause.
Keeping with current form, the Haryana Steelers started quicker off the blocks and soon had the Gujarat Giants thin on numbers on the mat. It was apt then that for two teams defined by stout defences, it would be a Super Tackle that would start the highlights package of the evening.
For the Giants, it was doubly welcome coming as it did from Fazel Atrachali, a superstar who has looked devoid of his shine over the past week. It proved to spark the fire in an old hand, who went on to star for his team on the night.
The tackle sparked a resurgence among the Giants and then soon inflicted the first ALL OUT of the game, with eight minutes of the half left to take a 15-7 lead. They would go into the break leading by a massive 11 points — their defence logging twice as many as the raiders — and looked comfortable to break their indifferent form.
The Steelers replied brilliantly in the second period though to spark an unlikely comeback for the ages. Having reduced the Giants’ numbers yet again did not repeat the mistakes of the first half. Despite suffering a Super Tackle from Vinay that sparked a brief Giants resurgence, the Steelers registered an All-Out to reduce the gap to 24-19 and set up an electric final quarter of the game.
An inspired Haryana Steelers defence riding high on confidence took the Giants into deep water very quickly in the final quarter of the game and got a second All-Out with two minutes to play to take the lead for the first time since the opening minutes of the game. They never let go of it this time to take the win.
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