'%20x='0'%20y='0'%20height='100%25'%20width='100%25'%20%0A%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20xlink%3Ahref='data:image/jpg;base64,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'%3E%3C/image%3E%3C/svg%3E)
The 3-month long journey of the seventh edition of Pro Kabaddi League, which had kickstarted on the 20th of July, wrapped up on the 19th of October after Bengal Warriors demolished Dabang Delhi to get their names etched on the coveted PKL trophy for the first time.
The intense clash witnessed Delhi starting well, but they eventually ended up losing the lead by the end of the first half. On the other hand, despite not having their star player Maninder Singh, the Warriors made a strong comeback in the match to snatch the lead.
The second half saw Delhi trailing throughout as their defense surprisingly made quite a few rookie errors. The Warriors, on the other hand, grew stronger as the match progressed. Mohammad Nabibakhsh, the Warriors' Iranian all-rounder, who was playing his debut season of the league, was the most impressive player from their team.
Let's now see what helped the Warriors clinch their maiden trophy of PKL:
#3 The Warriors didn't let Maninder Singh's absence affect them
In Bengal Warriors' league face-off with Dabang Delhi, star player Maninder Singh had suffered a shoulder injury, which prevented him from playing in the semi-finals against U Mumba.
Right when everyone thought that U Mumba had the upper hand due to Singh's absence, the Warriors stunned everyone by annihilating the Mumbai-based franchise to enter the final.
Kabaddi fans and experts both gave Delhi the edge as almost everyone underestimated the Bengal-based franchise.
Singh, who still didn't recover from his injury, informed everyone about his inability to play in the grand finale. He also told fans about him taking the responsibility of the assistant coach as he wanted to be there for his team on the mat.
The Warriors didn't start well against Delhi, but as the clock ticked, they gradually gained back the lost confidence and began picking up points without a break.
Singh, who wanted nothing more than to play, was seen reassuring his team on multiple occasions from the bench. Had the Warriors let all the pre-match talk get into their heads, they wouldn't have been able to lift that shining trophy.
#2 The whole team worked as a unit
The team that works together is the team that conquers. In Bengal Warriors' case, that was what happened. Right when the battle commenced, Delhi looked way ahead than the Warriors and prevented the latter from picking up points. It seemed like the Warriors had no chance in front of the team from the capital.
As the heated clash neared the ending of the first half, the Warriors, courtesy a laudable game by Nabibakhsh, made an impressive comeback. At half-time, the scoreboard displayed 17-17, despite Delhi commencing brilliantly.
The second half saw a more confident approach from the Warriors, with both the offense and defense dominating Delhi.
Naveen Kumar was kept off the mat for most of the last twenty minutes due to a power-packed defensive unit of the Warriors, mainly defenders Jeeva Kumar and Rinku Narwal. The raiders, Nabibakhsh and Sukesh Hegde also did their job to the T and helped their team bag the trophy.
#1 A brilliant performance by Mohammad Nabibakhsh
Iranian Mohammad Nabibakhsh had promised us a season worth remembering after displaying a commendable all-round performance in the 'All-stars' match, which took place between India's best playing seven and the best playing seven from the rest of the world right before PKL 2019 commenced.
The owners of Bengal Warriors struck gold after buying Nabibakhsh, who had first-hand experience of representing his country internationally on multiple occasions. He was on top of his game since the very first match of the season.
The final clash saw Nabibakhsh fill in the shoes of Maninder Singh and win the trophy for the Bengal Warriors. When every other plan failed, this powerhouse decided to unleash his magic and pitch in a bunch of crucial points for his squad.
Nabibakhsh garnered nine raid points and a tackle point, which were much less than the 18-point haul by Naveen Kumar, but his contribution was what changed the direction of the encounter entirely.
