Dabang Delhi, whose defence has looked brittle in the 4th season after the departure of their ex-captain and star defender Ravinder Pahal, put forth a commanding all-round performance against the Bengaluru Bulls as their defence delivered the goods to help the team win their first tie of Pro Kabaddi Season 4. Young Sanket Chavan and Sachin Shingade shone bright with the experienced D Gopu in the defence while Iran’s Meraj Sheykh lit up the Sawai Man Singh indoor Stadium with his raiding. Sheykh’s performance was especially important in the light of Kashiling Adake’s terrible form which continued even in the 4th match for the captain.
For Bengaluru Bulls, neither the attack nor the defence clicked. Mohit Chillar was impressive but didn’t find much support. Star raider Rohit Kumar had to spend a lot of time on the bench and it hurt the Bulls who finished the match in 6th position.
Dabang Delhi started slowly as Bangalore was the first of the two teams to reach the 5 point mark but was met at the mark by the opposition in the 8th minute after which the Eagles ran amok. Kashiling Adake’s woeful season continued as he couldn’t make a successful raid first up and helped the Bulls open their account. However, Selvamani K was in his elements and showed glimpses of why he is rated so high by the coach and the management.
Delhi also looked more proactive about using Meraj Sheykh on offence and it paid off when the Iranian became the second foreigner to cross the 100 point mark with a raid that put the Eagles in lead. But the moment of the day came in the 14th minute when Sheykh deceived the two defenders and leapt over the defender Yogesh Hooda to leave Bulls with a single man on the mat. Sachin Shingade completed the formalities to inflict the first all out of the match.
After being back to full strength on the mat, and more importantly, after having Rohit Kumar off the bench and on the mat, Bangalore regained composure and caught Delhi off guard when they gave two easy points to help them come back in the match.
Both teams, desperate for a win, played cautiously towards the end of the first half and were separated by 4 points at the halftime.
Half Time – Dabang Delhi 13 – Bengaluru Bulls 9
To begin the proceedings in the second half, Sanket Chavan was again in action as he brought down a flying Vinod Kumar to fetch the Eagles an important point. Kashiling Adake was denied his first point again when Mohit Sangwan foiled his attempt to raid in the next minute.
Rohit Kumar showed signs of regaining his lost touch when he removed the danger man Meraj Sheykh with a dubki under the leaping Iranian in the 26th minute. However, Sachin Shingade made a double tackle and ensured Delhi doesn’t lose the lead, which has happened so often in the tournament for the team. D Gopu got two more super tackles in the 28th and the 30th minute of the game for the team and Delhi were slowly but steadily inching away from the Bulls.
Mohit Chillar then gave his team the first super tackle and took out Dabang skipper Kashiling Adake. Despite Chillar’s efforts, which took him past 5 tackle points in the match, the Dabang Delhi led the Bulls by 6 points when 5 minutes were left for the final whistle. In the previous games, Delhi had squandered such leads by playing defensively. But the mistake wasn’t repeated on Saturday as the team made its intentions clear by sending Meraj Sheykh, easily the best raider on display in the match, for repeated raids and the Iranian didn’t disappoint.
He repeated the beautiful jump of 14th minute and this time it was Manoj Kumar who was left looking clueless as the tall Iranian flew over him. Another all out was inflicted by Delhi with just 2 minutes to go and the game had been almost decided with Delhi enjoying a 10 point lead. And soon, Dabang Delhi was celebrating its first win of the season. The team also leapt past Bengaluru Bulls on the point table, pushing them down to 6th while occupying the 5th place in the table.
Full Time – Dabang Delhi 32 – Bengaluru Bulls 24
