Goyat’s Super 10 on return fires U.P. Yoddha into the playoffs

U.P. Yoddha sealed the final spot in the vivo Pro Kabaddi Season 7 playoffs with a 50-33 win over Dabang Delhi K.C. at their home venue of the Shaheed Vijay Singh Pathik Sports Complex in Greater Noida on Saturday. Dabang Delhi K.C. fielded a fresh starting seven which was missing stars like Naveen Kumar, Ravinder Pahal and Joginder Narwal, and Monu Goyat used the opportunity to return to form in his comeback match with a Super 10.

Shrikant Jadhav and Monu Goyat reduced Dabang Delhi K.C. down to three men within the first three minutes of the match. A Super Tackle on Surender Gill delayed the All Out for Dabang Delhi K.C. but Goyat continued his fine start and put in two more successful raids to finally inflict it three-minutes later.

Sombir showed some resistance in defence by sending Jadhav to the bench and he found support in Neeraj Narwal, who reduced the score difference down to five with a Super Raid. But Goyat’s excellent raiding continued, with Jadhav and Gill scoring regularly as well, giving U.P. Yoddha a 22-12 lead going into halftime.

The second period saw more good work from Goyat, who brought up his Super 10 in just the second raid of the half, to reduce Dabang Delhi K.C. down to a solitary man. Nitesh Kumar made short work of Sheykh to inflict another All Out on Dabang Delhi K.C. and extend U.P. Yoddha’s lead to 12.

Sombir and Neeraj Narwal kept up the fight for Dabang Delhi K.C., with the latter putting in another Super Raid to bring U.P. Yoddha on the verge of an All Out in the sixth minute. However, Ashu Singh’s tackle on Neeraj and Jadhav’s two-point raid turned it around once again.

Sombir’s Super Tackle on Goyat gave the defender his High 5 and, on the other side of the mat Nitesh Kumar, too, brought up his High 5 just a couple of minutes later. As the last man on the mat for Dabang Delhi K.C., Sombir picked up a bonus before being tackled by Sumit, as the visitors succumbed to yet another All Out with five minutes left to play.

Young Neeraj Narwal, who was playing just the third match of his vivo Pro Kabaddi career, brought up his Super 10 with his third Super Raid of the night, but the home side’s consistent work gave them a 17-point win in the end and a place in the playoffs.

Top Performers:

U.P. Yoddha –

Best Raider – Monu Goyat (11 Raid Points)

Best Defender – Nitesh Kumar (6 Tackle Points)

Dabang Delhi K.C. –

Best Raider – Neeraj Narwal (10 Raid Points)

Best Defender – Sombir (6 Tackle Points)