Dazzling defence helps Dabang Delhi K.C. see off Bengal Warriors

Dabang Delhi K.C.’s defence had an outstanding night, as they took their team home against Bengal Warriors by a scoreline of 39-30 at the Shree Shiv Chhatrapati Sports Complex in Pune on Sunday. Ravinder Pahal and Joginder Narwal scored four tackle points each and Naveen Kumar managed a Super 10 for Dabang Delhi K.C., as they handed Bengal Warriors their first defeat of the campaign.

The opening exchanges were closely fought with each team matching every tackle and raid that the other team threw at them. The first real turning point in the half happened when Naveen Kumar managed a two-point raid with an incredible Frog Jump, getting Mahesh Goud and captain PO Surjeet Singh in the process. Pahal then tackled the in-form Maninder Singh in a Do-Or-Die raid before Kumar continued his good work by getting a touch point on Vijin Thangadurai, reducing Bengal Warriors to a solitary player on the mat.

Check out the photos from the match here.

Dabang Delhi K.C. captain Joginder Narwal tackled Shrikant Tewthia and inflicted the game’s first All-Out in Bengal Warriors. Post the All-Out, Dabang Delhi K.C. continued to pile the pressure on their opponents, as Chandran Ranjit and Naveen managed touch points in their raids and Maninder Singh’s self out in Kumar’s Do-Or-Die raid increased Dabang Delhi K.C.’s lead to five.

In the half’s final raid, Jang Kun Lee got two points to reduce Dabang Delhi K.C.’s lead to three as the teams went into the break with Bengal Warriors trailing 13-16.

Dabang Delhi K.C. kicked into overdrive in the second half and outscored Bengal Warriors 13-4 in the opening 10 minutes of the half. The highlight of this run was Chandran Ranjit’s six-point raid, which started with a Running Hand Touch attempt that put Ran Singh off balance, causing him to pull Thangadurai into the lobby, rendering them both out of bounds. Instead of retreating with the two points, Ranjit went in for the kill and got two touch points on Surjeet Singh and Thangadurai, inflicting a second All-Out on Bengal Warriors and pushing his team’s lead to 10.

Even with their 10-point lead, Dabang Delhi K.C. continued to dominate in defence as Pahal and Narwal tackled Mahesh Goud and Maninder Singh respectively, while Ranjit and Naveen kept chipping away with points on Do-Or-Die raids to maintain their team’s lead. With the score at 32-19 in Dabang Delhi K.C.’s favour, Lee got a couple of points in back-to-back raids and followed that up by sending Pahal to the bench, completing a Super 10 in the process, and sparking hopes of a late comeback.

Visit the matchcentre to relive the contest here.

In the 38^th minute, Maninder Singh went in to raid with just three Dabang Delhi K.C. men left on the mat and seemed to have picked up a point. But a review from Dabang Delhi K.C. suggested that the raider had stepped out of bounds before making contact with a defender, handing Dabang Delhi K.C. a Super Tackle and ending any hope of a comeback. Ran Singh managed a three-point raid, including a self-out by Narwal and two touch points, in Bengal Warrior’ final raid of the match as the clock ran out with Dabang Delhi K.C. holding on to win by 9 points.