Dabang Delhi, boosted by the presence of the Iranian raiders Meraj Sheykh and Abolfazal Maghsodlu, staged a remarkable comeback to outlast Bengaluru Bulls 38-30 in the ProKabaddi League on Wednesday.
Sheykh made a series of successful forays in the second half as Dabang forced an ‘all out’ in the ninth minute to draw level at 23. Maghsodlu had kept Delhi in the hunt in the first half with some successful raids, but it was Rohit Kumar of Bulls who won more raid points during this period. Thanks to Rohit’s efforts, Delhi was ‘all out’ by the 13th minute as Bulls took a 13-8 lead and held an 18-12 advantage after the first half.
After the change of ends, the short and stocky Sheykh repeatedly slipped out of the grasp of the Bulls defence.
Dabang also devised a way to tackle Rohit, who was greatly neutralised in the second half, blunting most of the Bull raids. Maghsodlu, who suffered an ankle twist early on in the second half, was seen in a less offensive role, but his compatriot Sheykh took over the reins for most part of the second half. Sheykh scored 14 points from 21 raids and Maghsodlu eight. Rohit was Bulls’ best raider with 13 points.
The result: Dabang 38 (Meraj Sheykh 14, Abolfazal Maghsodlu 8) bt Bulls 30 (Rohit 13).