Dabang Delhi K.C. see off Patna Pirates’ late surge to finish perfect at home

A spirited comeback from Patna Pirates led by ‘Record-Breaker’ Pardeep Narwal fell agonizingly short as Dabang Delhi K.C. held their nerve in the dying moments to secure a 38-35 victory at the Thyagaraj Sports Complex in Delhi on Friday. With this win, the side from the capital extended their lead at the top of the vivo Pro Kabaddi Season 7 standings to 10 points. Raider Naveen Kumar scored, a record, ninth successive Super 10 to ensure that Dabang Delhi K.C. finish with a perfect record in their home leg.

Superstar raider Naveen and the defence got the home side off to a dream start, as the raider scored four raid points in his first three attempts and the defence added two tackle points which reduced Patna Pirates to a solitary man. Right Corner Ravinder Pahal made quick work of the raider and inflicted the game’s first All-Out on Patna Pirates to give his side a 10-3 lead.

Dabang Delhi K.C. rode their momentum and scored six more unanswered points which left Patna Pirates with just two men on the mat. Vikas Jaglan added three raid points to his team’s total but it wasn’t enough for Patna Pirates to avoid the All-Out, as Dabang Delhi K.C. took a 14-point lead.

The visitors fared much better over the final nine minutes of the first half. Skipper Pardeep, who was limited to just one raid point up until that point, scored a point each in successive raids before stunning the home side with a Super Raid that left them with a solitary man on the mat. Neeraj Kumar’s Thigh Hold then stopped the raider in his track and Patna Pirates inflicted the All-Out to cut the deficit to just eight. The home side then added a couple of points to their score, while Patna Pirates added one as the two teams went into the break with Dabang Delhi K.C. leading 26-17.

The gap between the two sides remained at eight seven minutes into the second half, however, Joginder Narwal’s tackle on Pardeep and a raid point each from Chandran Ranjit and Vijay extended that lead to 11. Some excellent work from Pardeep though brought the deficit back down to 10 and his two-point raid further cut into Dabang Delhi K.C.’s lead, while also reducing the hosts to two men. Patna Pirates defence’s seventh tackle point and Pardeep’s 15^th raid point of match inflicted another All-Out on Dabang Delhi K.C. and cut their lead to just four.

Pardeep went on to add two more points to his team’s total which cut Patna Pirates’ deficit to just a couple of points, however, Naveen’s successful raid in a do-or-die situation gave his side a three-point lead with just over a minute left in the contest. Pardeep’s 18^th raid point of the night gave his side a glimmer of hope but Joginder’s tackle on the Patna Pirates skipper in the buzzer raid confirmed Dabang Delhi K.C.’s narrow win.

Top Performers:

Dabang Delhi K.C.

Top Raider – Naveen Kumar (15 Raid Points)

Top Defender – Ravinder Pahal (4 Tackle Points)

Patna Pirates

Top Raider – Pardeep Narwal (18 Raid Points)

Top Defender – Vikas Jaglan (2 Tackle Points)