In the ninth match of the 12th season of the Pro Kabaddi League (PKL), Dabang Delhi KC delivered a stellar performance, defeating the Bengaluru Bulls with a score of 41-34. This exciting match, played at the Vishwanadh Sports Club Stadium, saw Delhi’s captain, Ashu Malik, emerge as the star with 15 points. Bengaluru Bulls suffered their second consecutive loss. Besides Ashu, Neeraj Narwal (7 points) and defenders Fazel Atrachali and Saurabh Nandal (3 points each) made significant contributions to Delhi’s victory. On the other hand, Akash Malik (8 points) and Alireza Mirjaine (10 points) performed well for the Bengaluru Bulls, but the lackluster performance of star raider Akash Shinde (3 points) was a major reason for their defeat. From the start, Delhi adopted an aggressive approach. After taking a 2-1 lead in the third minute, Delhi’s defenders made their intentions clear by out-of-boundsing Akash Shinde in a do-or-die raid. In the fifth minute, Ashu Malik put pressure on the Bulls with a super raid, increasing the score to 6-1. Delhi then continuously played aggressively, taking a 10-3 lead with the first all-out.
The Bulls attempted a comeback when Yogesh out-of-boundsed Ashu, and Ashish sent Naveen out with a kick. However, Neeraj Narwal out-of-boundsed Dheeraj, giving Delhi an 8-point lead again. Before halftime, Ashu completed his Super-10, taking the score to 21-11. In the second half, Delhi maintained their momentum. In the 31st minute, the Bulls earned two points through a super tackle, but Delhi inflicted another all-out, making the score 28-13. In the final minutes, the Bulls attempted a strong comeback and even inflicted an all-out on Delhi, but bridging the 7-point gap proved difficult.
In the day’s second match, two-time champions Jaipur Pink Panthers started strong by defeating the three-time champions Patna Pirates 39-36 in their first match. This win marked Jaipur’s first victory of the season, while Patna suffered their second consecutive loss. Nitin Dhankhar played a key role for Jaipur with 13 points, with Ali Samadhi providing excellent support with 8 points. For Patna, Maninder Singh scored a brilliant 15 points and attempted a comeback until the end, but star raider Aryan Lohchab’s scoring only 6 points proved costly for the team. Sudhakar M scored 9 points, providing good support to Maninder, but it was not enough for victory. From the start of the match, both teams appeared to be neck and neck, resulting in a winning margin of only 3 points.
