Last Updated:
The Pirates and Giants played out an enthralling 40-40 stalemate at the Balewadi Sports Complex in Pune on Saturday, before Delhi Dabang got the better of the Pink Panthers in a 33-31 win.
PKL 11: Patna Pirates and Gujarat Giants play out 40-40 draw. (X)
Patna Pirates came back strongly to hold Gujarat Giants to a tie in an action-packed contest in Season 11 of the Pro Kabaddi League in the Badminton Hall of the Balewadi Sports Complex on Saturday. While the Gujarat Giants led for most of the game, the Patna Pirates eventually clinched a 40-40 draw.
For Patna Pirates, who are looking for a Top 2 finish, Devank got a Super 10 while Sudhakar M. scored seven points. For the Gujarat Giants, Guman Singh and Jitender Yadav scored eight points each, and Rakesh top-scored with nine of his own.
The Gujarat Giants were out of the blocks faster than the Patna Pirates. But after the first few minutes, the Patna Pirates’ raiders got going. Guman Singh and the Gujarat Giants responded with a three-point raid right after that, which put them in the box seat after the first five minutes. The Gujarat Giants then piled on the misery with an ALL OUT, which put a 6-point difference between the two sides.
Guman Singh, Neeraj, and Jitender Yadav were combining well but at the other end, Devank and Ayan were starting to mount a comeback. The Gujarat Giants had a healthy 6-point lead midway through the first half. Their defence were doing well to keep the dangerous duo of Devank and Ayan quiet with just under four minutes to go. In the final minutes of the first half, Devank and Sudhakar started to chip away at the lead, but the Gujarat Giants continued to control the game. At the break, the Gujarat Giants led 22-18.
Devank and the Patna Pirates came out of the break firing on all cylinders. Devank kicked things off and then the defence landed an All Out, which brought the deficit down to 2 points. Suddenly the Gujarat Giants didn’t have the momentum as the Patna Pirates began to flex their muscles. But the Gujarat Giants were just about holding onto the lead.
At the half-hour mark, it was a 1-point lead over the Gujarat Giants. But Devank, Sudhakar, and Navdeep were leading the fightback. With 9 minutes to go, Ayan levelled things up for the Patna Pirates but the Gujarat Giants weren’t buckling under pressure. A couple of important Super Tackles for the Gujarat Giants, helped them get back into the lead in the final phase of play.
With just under 4 minutes to, the Gujarat Giants had a 6-point lead. But Ayan then scored an All Out, and the Patna Pirates were back to within one point of their opponents. Sudhakar M. was looking to score crucial points in the final minutes and Devank got his Super 10 right at the end, as the teams shared the spoils on the day.
Delhi Dabag 33-31 Jaipur Pink Panthers
In what was a clash between two top teams, Dabang Delhi K.C. prevailed over Jaipur Pink Panthers 33-31.
Led by Ashu Malik’s 17th Super 10 of the season, Dabang Delhi K.C. – who have moved back to third on the points table after the win – fended off a late charge by the two-time PKL champions to continue their remarkable form.
The win added Dabang Delhi K.C. to PKL history books, having gone 14 matches without a loss in PKL 11. Ironically, they broke Jaipur Pink Panthers’ 13-match unbeaten record in a single PKL campaign (season 10). The team coached by Joginder Narwal also equalled Puneri Paltans’ 14-match unbeaten record, which was created over the 10th and 11th PKL seasons.
Both teams began on an equal footing, exchanging the points regularly. Ashu Malik was tackled by Ankush Rathee, while Arjun Deshwal got Gaurav Chhillar, after which Naveen Kumar got Arjun, and Ashu Malik got Ronak Singh. However, the tide shifted in the sixth minute as Dabang Delhi K.C. picked up key momentum.
Ashu Malik, in his trademark self, got the two remaining Jaipur Pink Panthers players – Ankush Rathee and Lucky Sharma – to inflict the first All Out of the match. That set the platform for Joginder Narwal’s team, as they continued to dominate their opponents.
Abhijeet Malik’s multi-point raid got Ashish Malik and Gaurav Chhillar, but then Naveen Kumar got Surjeet Singh and Ankush in consecutive raids, keeping the pressure on the two-time PKL champions. Ashu Malik completed his Super 10 with ease, in a do-or-die raid that got Lucky Sharma off the mat.
As the second half began, the game featured multiple do-or-die raids from both teams, with some key defensive plays including Surjeet blocking Naveen and Ashish successfully containing Sombir Mehra. The Jaipur Pink Panthers showed signs of a comeback with a super tackle against Ashu and a skillful running hand touch by Sombir Mehra.
A mini-comeback was completed with five minutes remaining as Arjun Deshwal was once again the main aggressor. Three successful raids from him left Dabang Delhi K.C. with just Yogesh on the mat, who was caught by Reza Mirbagheri, as the ALL OUT was inflicted on the season 8 PKL champions, getting the scores level.
With 2 minutes to go and the fans on the edge of their seats, Ashu Malik’s running hand touch caught Sombir Mehra, while Yogesh tackled Abhijeet Malik to give Dabang Delhi K.C. a narrow two-point lead. The Naveen Express also joined the party with a touch on Ankush Rathee. In some last-minute drama, Arjun Deshwal was adjudged to have been in the air when crossing the mid-line despite touching two Dabang Delhi K.C., as he missed out on equalling the score, with Jaipur Pink Panther losing by just two points.
(This story has not been edited by News18 staff and is published from a syndicated news agency feed – IANS)
- Location :
Pune (Poona) [Poona], India
