Match number 32 saw the Delhi-based franchise Dabang Delhi take on last season’s finalist Bengaluru Bulls at the Patliputra Sports Complex, Patna. It was the Eagles who came out on top with a comfortable 35-21 win over the Bulls with their young ace Selvamani K scoring 7 touch points. Kashiling Adake and Ravinder Pahal also did their bit in the Eagles’ maiden win by scoring 8 and 5 points respectively.
It was Bulls’ skipper Surjeet Narwal who started the proceedings of the match with an empty raid. A series of empty raids were exchanged between the two teams till the first do-or-die raid of the match arrived. Dabang Delhi sensed the opportunity to strike and drew the first blood by getting Parmod Narwal out and Selvamani K got the first touch point for the Eagles in the following raid.
The next few minutes saw the Eagles taking a 5-1 lead with the help of some brilliant defending from their captain Ravinder Pahal. However, the Bulls came back into the match with a super tackle on Surjeet Singh to make it a 2 point game by the end of 8 minutes.
It was Eagles’ Selvamani K who got some life into the match and gave them a chance of inflicting an All-out on the Bulls with the help of a super raid in the 13th minute which left only 2 Bulls players on the court. The Bulls faced their 1st All-Out of the match in the 17th minute to give the Eagles a comfortable 8-point lead, a lead which they were able to defend at the end of the first half.
HT: Dabang Delhi 16-7 Bengaluru Bulls
The second half started in the same fashion as the first, with both the teams exchanging empty raids in the early minutes. It was the Eagles’ defence which scored some points for them in the early stages, with Deepak Kumar Dahiya and Pawan Kumar getting out following the unsuccessful raids.
Shrikanth Tewthia scored 2 quick touch points for the Bulls to make it a 9 point game with just 12 minutes left on the clock. However, the duo of Selvamani K and Kashiling Adake returned the favour with their own 3 quick touch points to extend the Eagles’ lead to 12 points and reduced the Bulls to just a man on the court.
The Bulls were eventually all-out for the second time in the match and the Eagles looked on the path to clinch their maiden win of the tournament. Kashiling Adake scored some quick touch points to take the game away from the Bulls in the dying minutes of the match.
The experienced Eagles’ defence was able to hold down the lead till the final whistle and clinched their maiden win of the 3rd season of Star Sports Pro Kabaddi.
FT: Dabang Delhi 35-21 Bengaluru Bulls
You can catch the highlights of the match, presented by hotstar, below:
