Strong defence earns Dabang Delhi K.C. first Season 6 win

Dabang Delhi K.C. saw off an inspired performance from Nitin Tomar and put on a masterclass in defence in the second half to win 41-37 against Puneri Paltan at the Motilal Nehru School of Sports, Rai in Sonepat on Friday.

The match’s first raid was a milestone one for Nitin Tomar as a bonus point took him to 300 raid points in his VIVO Pro Kabaddi career. The match was evenly poised at 5-6 in Dabang Delhi K.C.’s favour in the 6^th minute with raiders Chandran Ranjit and Naveen Kumar picking up points for their team and Tomar keeping Puneri Paltan’s score ticking. But Meraj Sheykh sending Tomar to the bench opened the floodgates for Dabang Delhi K.C. With no raiders left on the mat, Sandeep Narwal went in for a raid and was tackled by opposition captain Joginder Narwal to help inflict the game’s first All-Out on Puneri Paltan.

Check out the photos from the match here

But Puneri Paltan quickly brushed off the setback and made a strong comeback as Tomar’s two-point raid, followed by Sandeep Narwal and Girish Maruti Ernak getting Chandran and Naveen respectively, left Dabang Delhi K.C. with just three men on the mat.

Tomar got Sheykh, Ravinder Pahal and Vishal Mane in consecutive raids to inflict an All-Out right back on Dabang Delhi K.C. with the score now 17-16 in Puneri Paltan’s favour. With the first half winding down, Tomar yet again displayed his brilliance, getting Pahal and Viraj Vishnu Landge to end the first half 22-20 in Puneri Paltan’s favour.

Tomar continued his dominance at the start of the second half to increase Puneri Paltan’s lead to three points, but Mane’s solo tackle on Amit Kumar started a Dabang Delhi K.C. resurgence. Pawan Kumar Kadian came off the bench and got Vinod Kumar to level the score at 25-25.

Dabang Delhi K.C.’s defence finally managed to pump the brakes on Tomar, as Landge got him with an ankle hold to send him to the bench for only the second time in the match. Substitute Rajesh Mondal followed Tomar to the bench and Naveen picked off Sandeep to leave More GB on the mat for Puneri Paltan.

A second All-Out was inflicted Puneri Paltan to take the score to 33-29. Tomar tried his best to get Puneri Paltan back into the game as he scored two points in two raids. But on his third, he succumbed to captain Narwal’s incredible ankle hold.

Visit the matchcentre to relive the contest here.

Dabang Delhi K.C. hit overdrive as Pawan Kumar Kadian picked off Vinod Kumar and got a bonus to increase his team’s lead to seven. Corner Pahal got Mondal in the very next raid to end any hope of a Puneri Paltan comeback.

Tomar did manage to get two points in his final two raids but it was too little for Puneri Paltan as Dabang Delhi K.C. hung on to secure their first win of the season.