Naveen Kumar piloted Dabang Delhi KC to an easier-than-expected 41-21 win over Haryana Steelers, the third consecutive win for the former in the seventh Pro Kabaddi League so far in three appearances over two legs. He crossed the 200-point mark, in the course of an individual high of 10th Super 10 in the competition.
Chandran Ranjit displayed his agility and reflexes with a leap over a catcher and a side roll to escape from another in the closing stages.
He top-scored for the winner (11 points from 17 raids and two bonus points), followed by teammate Naveen Kumar (10 from 15 raids and one bonus).
Saied Gaffari chipped in with four tackle points. For Haryana Steelers, another Naveen came to the fore (nine points) in a game out of their grasp from the start.
Fans in both camps roared in appreciation as raiders took advantage of catchers ready to take risks early on. Eight of the first nine consecutive raids were successful, before Haryana captain Dharmaraj Cheralathan got a firm hold on Meraj Sheykh and teammates joined in to trap the Iranian.
Haryana opted for a review following a Super Tackle by Joginder Narwal on Naveen, with two teammates lending a hand. Delhi was 11-8 ahead at this stage and players remaining on the mat did enough to retain initiative 15-10 at the break. The early frenzy by the raiders cooled down, the tempo slowed down.
Haryana fell behind early in the second half, suffering an all-out for the first time in the face of calculated raiding by Delhi., in front by 10 points at 22-12 and only gaining in poise as a unit. Haryana efforts at a comeback lost steam with a second all-out inflicted on them, behind 16-33 and no sign of a player to effect dramatic transformation in the team fortunes.
The results:
Dabang Delhi 41 (Chandran Ranjit 11, Naveen Kumar 10) bt Haryana Steelers 21 (Naveen 9, Vinay 5).
Bengaluru Bulls 30 (Pawan Sehrawat 11, Mahender Singh 3) bt U Mumba 26 (Arjun Deshwal 6, Abhishek Singh 5).
Monday’s matches: Tamil Thhalaivas vs Patna Pirates; Bengal Warriors vs Puneri Paltan.
