Bengal Warriors closed the gap on Dabang Delhi K.C. in the vivo Pro Kabaddi Season 7 standings after a 42-33 win over them at the Tau Devilal Sports Complex in Panchkula on Monday. Maninder Singh top-scored for Bengal Warriors with 13 raid points but unfortunately also picked up an injury that saw him sit out most of the second period.

Monday’s win over Dabang Delhi K.C. meant that Bengal Warriors are now unbeaten in their last eight matches.

After a pretty even start that saw both sides tied at 5-5 in the sixth minute, Bengal Warriors asserted themselves on the game following a two-point raid by Sukesh Hegde. They followed that up with a couple more successful raids by Mohammad Nabibakhsh and Maninder as well as two successful tackles by Rinku Narwal to inflict an All-Out and open up a 13-6 lead with 10 minutes played.

Dabang Delhi K.C. responded through swift raids from Naveen Kumar. However, Bengal Warriors’ raiding trident of Maninder, Hegde and Nabibakhsh were proving to be difficult to contain for Dabang Delhi K.C.’s defenders, leading to them succumbing to a second All-Out just before halftime. After the reset, Vijay scored a raid point for Dabang Delhi K.C. but Bengal Warriors were firmly in control at the break with a 25-14 lead.

Naveen Kumar scored his 18th straight Super 10.

The second half began in the same manner that the first had ended with Maninder, in particular, wreaking havoc on Dabang Delhi K.C.’s defence before picking up an injury that ended his night early. That said, he did ensure his team enforced a third All-Out on Dabang Delhi K.C to extend their advantage to 36-20 before leaving the court for treatment.

Dabang Delhi K.C. tried to capitalize with Maninder off the mat as Naveen quickly ran through the Bengal Warriors with a succession of successful raids to enforce an All-Out and reduce the deficit to 38-29 with nine minutes left on the clock.

Dabang Delhi K.C. pushed to reduce the lead further, but the final five minutes of the game saw Hegde take the onus of leadership on his shoulders to guide his team to a victory. He adopted an intelligent approach and slowed down the game to thwart Dabang Delhi K.C.’s momentum and register a nine-point win.

Top Performers:

Bengal Warriors –

Best Raider – Maninder Singh (13 Raid Points)

Best Defender – Baldev Singh (3 Tackle Points)

Dabang Delhi K.C. –

Best Raider – Naveen Kumar (15 Raid Points)

Best Defender – Anil Kumar (3 Tackle Points)