Welcome to Sportstar's coverage of the Pro Kabaddi League. This is Nihit Sachdeva and I will be taking you through today's PKL 8 match between Dabang Delhi K.C. and Patna Pirates.
Summary: In the final match of the evening, Dabang Delhi booked its play-off spot with a narrow 26-23 win over table topper Patna Pirates. Despite playing with a second-string side, Patna Pirates gave Delhi a run for their money and stayed in the match till the very end. Patna started the match strongly before Delhi settled down and from thereon, it was a neck-to-neck contest. At half-time, the score read 14-12 in favour of Delhi which needed at least a tie to make it to the knock out stage.
In the second half, it was Delhi which quickly stretched its lead to four points but a Super Tackle on Neeraj Narwal by Shubham Shinde, who picked up a High 5, ended Delhi's hopes of inflicting the All Out. While Shubham was proving to be the hero in defence on Patna's side, for Delhi, it was the veteran Manjeet Chhillar who showed his class by clinching a High 5. Going into the final five minutes, Delhi was ahead 22-20. Patna, already assured of a play-off spot, kept fighting and made it 23-23 with less than two minutes left on the clock. However, two quick bonus points by Vijay (seven raid points) for Delhi followed by a successful tackle on Patna's raider Rohit ensured Delhi walked away with the win and completed the double over the men in green this season.
FULL-TIME: Dabang Delhi has qualified for the play-offs with a 26-23 win over table topper Patna Pirates tonight.
26-23: Rohit comes in for the do-or-die raid, Delhi defence makes him wait and then pounces on him.
Thirty six second to go. Next up is a do-or-die raid for Patna.
25-23: Vijay picks up another bonus.
Ninety three seconds left. Can Delhi seal the play-off spot tonight?
24-23: Vijay picks up a bonus.
23-23: Parity restored. Clever toe touch on Jeeva by Rohit.
23-22: Shadloui with a massive dash pushes Sandeep Narwal off the mat.
23-21: Self-out while raiding is one of the worst ways to walk back. Off you go Mohit.
22-21: It is a one-point game again. Strong block by substitute Manuj and he stops Neeraj effectively.
Final strategic time out. Five minutes to go and this has been a close match so far with no All Outs. Looking at the starting line-ups, many would have expected Delhi to run away with the game but clearly, Patna had other ideas.
22-20: Do-or-die raid for Delhi, Manjeet goes in and Sourav Gulia pushes him off the mat with a big dash. However, in the process, Sourav himself went past the mid-line. Self-out and a point to Delhi as well.
21-19: Do-or-die raid for Patna, captain Monu goes in but Krishan Dhulll comes up with a clutch thigh hold to stop him.
20-19: Do-or-die raid for Delhi, Neeraj goes in and attempts the dubki to deceive Shadloui but Shubham pulls him back before he could reach the mid-line.
20-18: Do-or-die raid for Patna, Rohit comes in and Manjeet Chhillar on the left corner picks up a High 5 with a diving ankle hold.
First strategic time out. Ten minutes to go and a second-string Patna Pirates side is proving to be just as difficult to beat as the one with its top players. Delhi has a one-point lead but against Patna, this is nothing.
19-18: HIGH FIVE FOR SHUBHAM SHINDE!!! Shubham Shinde has been sublime tonight. Manjeet the raider puts in yet another unsuccessful raid as the Patna defender tackle him.
19-17: Do-or-die raid ror Patna, Mohit goes in and it is Neeraj Narwal, a raider, who proves to be his downfall with an excellent double ankle hold.
18-17: Speechless. There simply aren't anymore superlatives to describe this Patna defence. Sandeep Narwal goes down courtesy of an ankle hold by a flying Sourav Gulia on the right corner.
18-16: Ankle hold from Manjeet Chhillar to bring down his counterpart Monu.
17-16: Patna reduces the deficit to a single point with a successful tackle on raider Manjeet who is a bit unhappy and thinks the Patna defence was a tad too aggressive.
17-15: SUPER TACKLE!!! Massive double ankle hold by Shubham to bring down Neeraaj.
17-13: Odhiambo has been pushed off the mat yet again by a Delhi defence that has been pretty decent tonight.
16-13: Brutal block from Jeeva Kumar and he manages to stop Mohit.
15-13: Neeraj Narwal goes in for the raid but does not need to do much as Shadloui retreats far too much to step into the lobbies for a self out.
14-13: Odhiambo escapes from Krishan's ankle hold on the right corner.
As things stand, Dabang Delhi qualifies for the play-offs. It needs a win or a tie from this match.
HALF-TIME: Dabang Delhi 14-12 Patna Pirates
14-12: Bonus and a lovely jump over Monu's block. Vijay returns with two points.
12-12: Monu goes in, Manjeet comes far too ahead for the ankle hold and understandably does not get the assist as the Patna skipper makes it to the mid-line.
12-11: Delhi subs in Neeraj Narwal. He goes in for the next raid and Shadloui comes from behind to push him off the mat but goes out of bounds himself as well. One point each. Patna lose their review saying Shadloui did not go out of bounds completely.
11-10: Ashu Malik is the next raider. He attempts a running hand touch on Shubham on the right corner, gets it but his momentum makes it a cake walk for Patna to push him off the mat.
11-9: Odhiambo's horrible outing continues as the Delhi defence traps him easily.
10-9: Krishan Dhull gets his man. Solid ankle hold to bring down Mohit.
9-9: Patna's defence is on to Vijay in a flash. No escape.
9-8: Vijay goes in for the raid, picks up the bonus but Shadloui in the attempt for another pursuit crosses the mid-line even before Vijay. Self-out.
7-8: Oh my!!! Unbelievable back hold by Shubham Shinde to halt the seemingly unstoppable Naveen Express.
7-7: Odhiambo goes in for the raid, evaded Manjeet's block but gets trapped in Sandeep's back hold.
6-7: Do-or-die raid for Delhi, Ashu Malik goes in and looks for the touch on the left corner before being mobbed by the defence in the centre of the mat.
6-6: Vikash D with a hopeful ankle hold attempt and Mohit has no issues in picking the touch point.
6-5: Error in defence from all-rounder Monu who went for an ambitious tackle on Naveen.
5-5: Sandeep Narwal puts pressure on Patna with his rapid pace and sends Odhiambo rolling on the ground to return with a touch point.
4-5: Shubham Shinde went in for a quick pursuit after Naveen's empty raid but perhaps did not know that it was a do-or-die raid. He tries to find a touch point before Krishan pushes him off the mat.
3-5: Vijay picks up the bonus but then is stopped by the big Iranian block of Shadloui.
2-4: Vijay goes in for the raid and picks up a diving hand touch on Balaji D.
1-4: Another successful raid for Mohit as Sandeep comes in for the ankle hold but gets no support.
1-3: Daniel Odhiambo picks up a bonus.
1-2: Lovely combination work by Mohit and Shubham to bring down a flying Naveen Express.
1-1: Do-or-die raid for Delhi and Naveen does not disappoint. He gets the touch point on Sourav but it took some convincing for the officials.
0-1: Excellent running hand touch for Mohit and Krishan Dhull walks back to the bench.
0-0: Naveen Kumar begins the match with an empty raid.
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TOSS - Patna Pirates wins the toss and selects left side of the court. Dabang Delhi to raid first.
LINE-UPS!!!
Dabang Delhi K.C.: Naveen Kumar, Sandeep Narwal, Manjeet Chhillar (c), Vijay, Ashu Malik, Krishan Dhull, Vikash D
Patna Pirates: Mohit, Monu (c), Balaji D, Sourav Gulia, Daniel Odhiambo, Shubham Shinde, Mohammadreza Chiyaneh Shadloui
9:40pm: Patna Pirates has won seven and lost five of its 12 matches against Dabang Delhi. One game between the two sides has finished in a tie. Delhi beat Patna 32-29 in their first meeting this season.
9:35pm: One win in five matches hasn’t affected Dabang Delhi’s league position, but has given the chance for teams below to catch up and potentially usurp Delhi from second place on the points table. Delhi was trounced 44-28 in its previous outing, as the defence dropped another dud performance, scoring just seven tackle points. Naveen Kumar sat out the entire second half, putting immense pressure on Vijay to keep the scoreboard ticking. Delhi’s defence and Naveen’s health have been their Achilles heel this season. Delhi needs to win both matches to ensure it finishes second, which could come in handy during the playoffs.
Patna Pirates is the team to beat in vivo Pro Kabaddi Season 8. Seven straight wins, a 75 per cent win rate this season and a scarcely believable score difference of +120, Patna is dominating the league like few others rosters ever have. The Pirates’ defence is averaging 12.15 tackle points per game, the third-most in the history of vivo Pro Kabaddi, behind U Mumba’s defensive units from Season 6 and Season 2. Led by Mohammadreza Chiyaneh Shadloui, who will likely take home the Best Defender crown in his maiden vivo PKL campaign, Patna’s ability to turn the game with its defence is unmatched. Patna needs four more wins to match U Mumba’s all-time record of 11 straight wins.
9:30pm: Follow our live coverage of the second match of the evening where going into the last five minutes, Bengaluru Bulls leads Haryana Steelers 36-24:
9:20pm: In a team that's coached by the iconic Anup Kumar and features established stars such as Nitin Tomar, Rahul Chaudhari and Vishal Bharadwaj, one youngster has come come along and stolen the limelight - Aslam Inamdar. The young raider hailing from Taklibhan in Maharashtra has made coaches and fans turn around and take notice of his aptitude for the game and stunning skill set. From braving a broken leg to dealing with a tough financial situation at home, Aslam has overcome adversities aplenty to pursue his dream of becoming a professional kabaddi player.
Aslam is the first guest in Sportstar's special series - the Future Kings of Kabaddi.
9:10pm: The 2022 edition of the Sportstar Aces Awards is back and we are celebrating the marvellous year for Indian Sports that 2021 was. From Neeraj Chopra and the other Olympic and Paralympic medallists to the Indian cricket team, we have a bunch of nominees who need your vote to win! Click here to VOTE!
9 :05pm: In case if you're new to this sport, here's a simple explainer that covers all the rules of the game and the various terms such as 'All Out', 'Do-or-die' and 'Super Tackle'-
9pm: Hello folks and welcome to our third and final game of the evening! We've got an interesting clash ahead of us as Dabang Delhi K.C. takes on Patna Pirates! Before we get to that, here's a recap of what went down in the PKL over the last fortnight -
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