Dabang Delhi staged a remarkable fightback in the last five minutes to record an exciting 30-29 win over Tamil Thalaivas in the league phase of the Vivo ProKabaddi League Season-7 at Gachibowli Indoor Stadium here on Thursday.
Ironically, the defeat was the result of a costly error by one of Thalaivas’ best defenders, Manjeet Chillar, who slipped ‘out of bounds’ when Naveen Kumar was raiding.
After going out of bounds, he was involved in a tackle that pinned down Naveen, and Dabang was awarded the crucial point which proved decisive.
For a team which struggled in the first session, Dabang showed great spirit when it mattered to pick up points, thanks to the efficacy of defender Joginder Narwal and raider Naveen.
With the scores tied at 29, all eyes were on star raider Rahul Chaudari. But, he returned after a blank visit and then Naveen’s raid changed the fortunes.
For the winner, Naveen with seven points from 17 raids and Narwal with four points were the key performers, while for Thalaivas, Rahul scored six points from 13 raids and Manjeet five from six tackles.
Earlier, it was a slow start to the contest before Thalaivas surged ahead to take a 5-1 lead. Then, there was some drama when captain Ajay Thakur’s self-out not only denied an all-out but also conceded three points for a super tackle which saw Dabang reduce the lead to 3-5.
Immediately, star raider Rahul was pinned down by the Delhi defence to level the scores at five.
But, after that, it was a typical clinical performance from Thalaivas which saw them lead 18-11 at the break, Rahul scoring five points from eight raids and Ajay picking up three points.
The result: Dabang Delhi bt Tamil Thalaivas 30-29.
Friday’s matches: Telugu Titans vs Patna Pirates (7.30 pm); UP Yoddha vs Gujarat Fortunegiants (8.30 pm).