Pro Kabaddi League: Dabang Delhi have the last laugh against Bengaluru Bulls

Jasmer Singh halts Ajay Thakur, denying him a successful raid

14th August 2014, Pune: After recovering from Puneri Paltan’s emphatic victory last night, the Balewadi Sports Complex which was filled to its brims was all set to witness yet another exciting match, the 20^th kabaddi contest between the fully-charged Bengaluru Bulls and the shaky Dabang Delhi team. While a victory here would get the Bulls back to their winning ways, the Dabangs needed this to revive their spirits.

After a 40-minute display of gravity defying stunts and hair raising tackles, and a bout of surprises, it was the Dabangs from Delhi that stole the spotlight. The match went down to the very last minute, leaving the spectators with their hearts in their mouths; Dabang Delhi eventually won 29-27.

Winning the toss, Jasmer Singh, the Dabang skipper chose to defend from the right. Getting to a fiery start the Dabang Delhi raced ahead, taking the score to 4-0 by the fifth minute. Delhi continued their assault as they took down Bangalore captain Manjit Chillar, setting themselves up for the first set of LONA Points. It wasn’t long before the Bulls were reduced to Ajay Thakur, who even with his lightning kicks couldn’t save Bengaluru from an all-out in the ninth minute.

Back on the mat, and trailing by 6 points, the Bulls regrouped, and started on the long road to a comeback. In what were a solid 10 minutes of trading points, the Bengaluru Bulls slowly gained the upper hand, closing the gap to 4 points and bringing Dabang Delhi down to 4 players by the 19th minute.

As the second half began, the Bulls seemed even more charged up as they started to close in on the point difference, reducing Delhi to just two players in the 25th minute and putting the threat of an all-out on the horizon. But Delhi were able to bounce back with a successful raid from Pakistani Ehsan Fard, preserving their lead at the 30th minute with Bengaluru 16, Delhi 21.

Ajay Thakur then brought the streak to an end, scoring a 2 point raid and preparing the field for Manjit, who in a fantastic raid outsmarted the Delhi defense, escaping the grapple of Ravinder Singh and tagging Ehsan Fard on the way home for an amazing all out.

Thus, with 5 minutes to go, the score was set at 22-24, with Dabang Delhi maintaining the lead. Two merciless tackles from the Delhi side widened the gap to 22-26, and had the Bengaluru Bulls on their toes, exemplified by a two-man tackle of Kashiling Adanke. This was followed by a two-point raid by Manjit Chillar, tying the score at 27 all with only 60 seconds remaining.

With the win on the line, Dabang Delhi once again came back in full force, and with two thundering tackles took the game with a score of 29-27.