Dabang Delhi beat Puneri Paltan 60-40 in crucial tie

Naveen Kumar was once again the star for Dabang Delhi as they defeated Puneri Paltan 60-40 in a crucial Pro Kabaddi League match in front of a packed audience at the Tau Devi Lal Sports Complex here on Sunday.

The young raider picked up another Super 10 (his 17th consecutive) as Delhi produced a near-flawless performance to beat Pune and end their chances of making it to the playoffs.

Delhi, as expected, started on the front foot, with their raider-in-chief Naveen Kumar looking unstoppable. The 19-year-old raider picked points at will, pulling out the acrobatic moves in the process, as the Delhi side inflicting an All-Out on Pune in the 7th minute of the match.

Pune were badly missing the services of their raider Pankaj Mohite who missed out due to a fever.

Their raiders struggled as Ravinder Pahal (completed 50 tackle points for the season) and Joginder Narwal, the corners for Delhi, also got into the game with successful tackles. Naveen Kumar, meanwhile, kept adding to his points tally as he clinched a personal record of becoming the fastest player to secure 400 raid points in VIVO Pro Kabaddi history.

The Delhi side secured their second All-Out with 7 minutes remaining to half time to open up a 14-point lead. Manjeet was once again the only positive player on the mat for Pune and his valiant efforts in the raids allowed the side to cling on to the hope of coming back into the match. The first half ended 30-16 with Delhi on top.

The second half turned out to be much of the same with Delhi dominating in all departments.

Chandran Ranjit secured his Super 10 as the Delhi clinched another All-Out in the 11th minute of the second half to all but seal the match. Balasaheb Jadhav got a High 5 for Pune but their leaking defence and toothless raids led to another All-Out with slightly more than five minutes still remaining in the match.

Pahal clinched his High 5 for the team from Delhi as their raiders helped them secure the biggest points tally in VIVO Pro Kabaddi season seven. Pune's loss meant their hopes of a playoff berth ended while Delhi ensured they will remain in the top two of the league irrespective of whatever happens in the remaining matches.

( With inputs from IANS )