Sandeep Narwal rolls back the years in Dabang Delhi’s gritty win over Patna Pirates

A spectacular performance in the first half from Sandeep Narwal and Vijay’s clutching raiding late in the second half saw Dabang Delhi K.C. beat Patna Pirates 32-29. The veteran all-rounder finished the game with eight points, while Vijay was the game’s top scorer with nine. With this win, Delhi ascended to the top of the points table.

The Pirates raced to a 3-0 lead, courtesy of Sachin and Prashanth Kumar Rai. But outstanding raiding from Vijay and strong work from the defence helped Delhi level the scores at 5-5. Sandeep Narwal added two more touch points to Delhi’s total and helped his side reduce Patna to just two players on the mat. After allowing substitute Selvamani to pick a bonus, Ashu Malik went in to raid, managed to escape Mohammadreza Chiyaneh’s Ankle Hold before tagging Neeraj en route to the midline to help Delhi inflict the game’s first All Out and take an 11-6 lead.

Vijay and Sandeep added two more points to their team’s total to extend Delhi’s lead to seven. Patna tried to claw their way back into the game but were matched point-for-point by Delhi as they continued to trail by seven. Sandeep added a couple of more points to his and Delhi’s tally in the final couple of minutes of the half to help Delhi embark on a 3-1 run and go into halftime leading by nine points.

The Pirates started the second half tremendously, scoring five unanswered points, courtesy of three from Guman Singh and one each from Monu and Sachin, to cut their deficit to four. Delhi responded with two unanswered points, but Patna did not relent, as Sachin and Chiyaneh combined to reduce Delhi to a solitary man. The Pirates’ defence made no mistake in pinning down substitute Balram to inflict an All Out on Delhi and cut their deficit to one point.

Post the All Out, Delhi embarked on a 4-2 run to push their lead up to three. Patna answered with two straight points to cut the deficit back to one, but a Super Raid from Vijay turned the tide of the contest in Delhi’s favour, who now led by four.

Selvamani and the Pirates’ defence helped their team cut the deficit to two. With time of the essence, Sachin ventured deep into Delhi’s territory to try and pick up a touch point. But the raider was pinned down by Delhi’s experienced defence, taking their side a step closer to victory.

A sensational tackle on Vijay by Chiyaneh gave the Pirates one last opportunity to save bring parity to the scoreline. But in the game’s final raid, Manjeet Chhillar incredible Ankle Hold left Selvamani immobile, and the rest of Delhi’s defence joined in to pin the raider down and win the game for their side.

Top Performers

Dabang Delhi K.C.

Best Raider – Vijay (9 Raid Points)

Best Defender – Jeeva Kumar (2 Tackle Points)

Patna Pirates

Best Raider – Prashanth Kumar Rai (6 Raid Points)

Best Defender – Neeraj Kumar (4 Tackle Points)