Pro Kabaddi: Dabang Delhi pip Jaipur Pink Panthers 30-26 in a thrilling encounter

FOLLOWING A NAIL BITING second half, Meraj Sheykh-led Dabang Delhi pipped Jaipur Pink Panthers 30-26, at Hyderabad. 

Dabang Delhi’s early lead was closed down by Manjeet Chhillar and Selvamani K with back to back tackle and raid points. Both teams looked equally cautious as the scores were 3-3 at the sixth minute. While Meraj struggled to find his footing in the initial minutes, Jasvir Singh looked sharp as he bagged back to back two-point raids to give Panthers a 7-4 lead. Subsequently, Jaipur inflicted their first all-out and took an 11-4 lead.

Selvamani K suffered a rather unfortunate knee injury while raiding near the bonus line and had to receive medical attention. The star raider did not return in the game and there has been no announcement regarding the extent of the injury.

Delhi raiders looked toothless as Meraj found his first raid point in the 19th minute of the game. Delhi ended the first half trailing 16-9. However, they started the second half with a bang. Courtesy of back to back successful tackles and raids, within five minutes, the Dabangs took the scoreline to 16-17. They leveled the match 18-18 in the 28th minute. 

Delhi increased the lead by inflicting their second all-out to lead 27-21 in the 36th minute. They held their cool towards the end and won the match 30-26. 

Dabang Delhi Playing 7:

Rohit Baliyan
Bajirao Hodage
Viraj Vishnu Landge
Anand Patil
Meraj Sheykh
Nilesh Shinde
Sunil

Substitutes:

Abolfazl Maghsodlou 
Rupesh Tomar
Suresu Kumar
Swapnil Shinde
R. Sriram

Jaipur Pink Panthers Playing 7:

Jasvir Singh
Somvir Shekhar
Manjeet Chhillar
Pawan Kumar
Selvamani K.
Manoj Dhull
Navneet Gautam

Substitutes:

Dong Gyu Kim
Kamal Kishor
Tushar Patil
Siddharth 
Nitin Rawal

Le Panga:
Nilesh Shinde: The veteran defender was rock solid in his position. He repeatedly displayed why he is regarded as the ankle-hold specialist. Earned Super 5.
Pawan Kumar: Bagged seven points from quick successful raids under pressure situations. 

No Panga:
Manjeet Chhillar: A lot was expected from him but after his first point in the initial minutes of the game, the star all-rounder made no significant contribution to the Panthers’ scoreline. 

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