Naveen Kumar goes for a toe touch for Pune’s defense.
Dabang Delhi KC beat Puneri Paltan 41-30 in a Pro Kabaddi League match at Sheraton Grand here on Thursday. Prolific raider Naveen Kumar scored 16 points for Dabang Delhi and was equaled by his raiding partner Vijay (9 points) as he gave the Pune defenders a tough time on the mat.
The match was billed as a face-off between two of the country’s top raiders – Delhi’s Naveen Kumar and Pune’s Rahul Choudhary – and the opening minutes showed glimpses of both the athletes and their abilities.
Rahul opened the scoring for Pune, who, despite Delhi’s lack of experience, seemed eager to shock them. But Naveen Kumar had other plans as he raided point after raid to reduce Pune’s men to the mat. With Vijay playing the role of a secondary raider, the Delhi pair scored their first all out in the eighth minute to take the score 10-5 in their favor.
Veteran Ajay Thakur didn’t have to make a raid for Delhi despite opening the match as the season 8 league winners opened on an 11 point lead to get another all out with three minutes left in the half. Pune’s star raider Nitin Tomar, however, will not allow the Delhi team to run away with the lead. He reduced Delhi to two men on the court, but Vijay produced a successful raid and ended the first half 22-15.
Pune coach and kabaddi legend Anup Kumar had asked his men to target Delhi’s Manjeet Chhillar and he did exactly that in the second half.
The Delhi defender’s mistake allowed Pune to close the gap to Dabangg by just four points in the 6th minute of the second half. But a revived Naveen Kumar was in no mood to give Pune a chance. He claimed his Super 10, faced Rahul Choudhary and then touched Nitin Tomar in three consecutive moves to transfer the momentum to Delhi.
Vijay ensured that Dabangg’s attack was a two-way street with a high-quality raid as they bowled out another All Out with five minutes remaining in the match. Aslam Inamdar’s late cameo was not enough to make a comeback to Pune.
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