UBA: Delhi Capitals beat Mumbai Challengers 104-94 in final North Division League game

Hyderabad, 25th March 2016: Teams from two of India’s biggest cities, Mumbai Challengers and Delhi Capitals, squared off against each other today in their last league stage game. Delhi Capitals hold the best record in the tournament (5-1) and was looking to maintain their top position in the northern division. The Challengers, with a 4-2 record, were gunning for the top spot in their group to ensure a direct qualification to the semifinals.

With their starting centre Ramesh sitting out this game, Delhi began the game with forward Yudhvir Singh in the frontcourt along with Smithin Setu. The move immediately paid off for Delhi, as Yudhvir scored 6 quick points in the first quarter. Guard Vinay Kaushik continued his MVP calibre run driving aggressively to the basket. For the Challengers, point guard Prudhvi Reddy found his touch from long range in the first period and swingman Karan Pal Singh came off the bench to knock down consecutive triples. The first quarter ended with Delhi up 28 to 20.

Vinay Kaushik continued his momentum into the second quarter, fearlessly driving to the basket and earning his points at the freethrow line. Mumbai, however, continued plugging away into Delhi’s lead. Centre Gagandeep Singh used his size and dexterity to finish at the basket. Shooting guard Ranbir Singh knocked down two huge triples to further cut into Delhi’s lead in the second quarter. But a couple of timely triples from young guard Sunil Rathee off the bench helped maintain the Capitals’ lead with the halftime score at 50 to 40.

In the third quarter, athletic forward Nikhil Dahiya (20 points and 11 rebounds) caught fire for Mumbai knocking down turnaround jumpers and grabbing second chance points. Mumbai centre Gagandeep remained consistent producing points from the post.

Unfortunately, however, Delhi brought out its X-factor, forward Satyajeet, from the bench, who unexpectedly put up 12 points in the third quarter alone. His off-the-ball movement ensured that he was always in the right place at the right time to find easy buckets. He even ended the third quarter with a spectacular two-handed dunk at the buzzer to give the Capitals a huge momentum boost going into the fourth.

Mumbai did make an attempted comeback in the fourth quarter with some huge triples from point guard Prudhvi Reddy (17 points). But it was too little too late, as Delhi kept finding its way to the basket, shooting above 50% from the field against a non-existent Mumbai defense down the stretch. Delhi ended up hitting the century mark and finished the league stages on the top of their group. They now get a direct entry into the semifinals, while Mumbai will have to cross a playoff hurdle first.

Delhi Capitals (Vinay Kaushik 22 pts 10 rbs, Yudhvir Singh 14 pts 11 rbs, Satyajeet 13 pts, Sachin Sharma 12 pts 5 assists) bt Mumbai Challengers (Gagandeep Singh 24 pts, Nikhil Dahiya 20 pts 11 rbs, Karan Pal Singh 20 pts, Prudhvi Reddy 17 pts 4 assists) 104-94 (28-20, 22-20, 24-23, 30-31)