A resurgent Puneri Paltan moved closer to the semi-final of Pro Kabaddi 2016 Season 4 by beating Dabang Delhi, who were dumped out after losing the game 34-39. Delhi dominated the game in large parts but Puneri Paltan, buoyed by the return of their captain Manjeet Chhillar, seized the initiative in the final eight minutes of the match to defeat Delhi. Deepak Niwas Hooda was the star on a night for Pune and put in a stellar performance to take his side home.
Puneri Paltan and Dabang Delhi were both staring at exits from the tournament in case of loss and fielded strong sides. While Delhi was unchanged from the side that lost to Patna yesterday as it had played really well, Puneri Paltan were boosted by the return of captain and star all-rounder Manjeet Chhillar. The game had all the makings of a stellar contest and the teams did not disappoint.
The first ten minutes of the game were neck and neck as both teams put pressure on each other. Ajay Thakur, Manjeet Chhillar’s trusted lieutenant, began the first half by getting a touch point but Kashiling Adake brought back parity to proceedings. Delhi were put under relentless pressure from Puneri Paltan and were kept on the backfoot consistently. Some great raiding by Pune saw them reduce Delhi to three men around the 10 minute mark and take a one point lead with score being 8-7 in the away side’s favour.
However, Meraj Sheykh kept them in the hunt and Puneri Paltan were made to dig deep and kept looking for the All Out. The game went into the favour of Delhi with just six minutes left when only Meraj and Kashiling Adake were left on the mat. At a delicate conjuncture in the game, Kashi produced a good raid to bring one man back but an error from Selvamani gave Pune a two point lead and the score was 10-12.
Kashiling and Meraj were left stranded on the mat but the former produced a magical Super Tackle to draw his team level and bring Anil Kumar back on the mat. Puneri Paltan sent in Ajay Thakur to put pressure but Anil Kumar was superb and yet another Super Tackle put Delhi into a two point lead. Meraj was sent off the mat in the 18th minute when he was tackled on a do or die raid.
However, Delhi had two defenders on the mat and that kept the Pune raiders at bay towards the end of the first half. With around two minutes lef, Ntin Tomar’s over exuberance cost the away side but they reviewed the call of the raider being self out. The review was unsuccessful and Delhi surged into a three point lead, the score standing at 16-13. The first half ended with Puneri Paltan making a tackle on Kashiling, who had to attack due to a do or die raid.
Half Time – Dabang Delhi 16-14 Puneri Paltan
Though Dabang Delhi were in the lead, they needed to keep the momentum going in the second half and they were at a disadvantage, having just three men on the mat. Puneri Paltan got a technical point early in the second half and it reduced the lead to just one point. Deepak Hooda then sent Anil Kumar off the mat on a do or die raid but Umesh Matre nullified that by getting one on his own.
Delhi were down to two men but their resistance and character enabled them to stay in the hunt as a raid by Prashant sent Manjeet out of the court. The home side was leading by two points but were under pressure as they needed to win by more than seven points. Deepak Hooda sent Sachin Shingade out to reduce the deficit to one point and put Delhi down to two men.
Prashant did a Kashi to produce a Super raid in the 26th minute to put Delhi ahead by four points. A mistake by Prashant Chavan reduced Delhi to three men again and Puneri Paltan were behind by just three points. Dabang Delhi, however, brought on D Suresh Kumar to strengthen their defence but he was sent off by Deepak Hooda. It was a similar story for Delhi as Meraj and Kashi were left stranded on the mat again. Deepak Hooda showed why he is so good by condemning Delhi to an All Out in the 28th minute. The score did not get affected much as Delhi drew level and it was 24-24 with 11 minutes to go.
Pune were in the lead for a while but Delhi drew level with around nine minutes to go in the match and proceedings turned into a bit of see-saw after that. Pune took the momentum away from Delhi and moved into a two point lead with five minutes to go. But Delhi kept themselves in the hunt by picking points. Deepak Hooda was given the responsibility to raid in the closing minutes and he delivered in style. Delhi were down to two men and behind by four points with a little over three minutes to go.
Manjeet Chhillar put Prashant out Delhi were All Out with just under three minutes to go and the score stood at 38-30 in the favour of the away side. The match went as predicted after that and Delhi were knocked out of the tournament.
Full Time: Dabang Delhi 34-39 Puneri Paltan
