This is Shivansh Gupta signing off. Until tomorrow, Ciao!
That's all the action we have for you from the first day of the Ahmedabad leg, which was a raider-heavy day . Do watch this space for everything Kabaddi as we bring you everything you need to know from the seventh season of the ProKabaddi League. To keep up with our coverage of the league, be it match reports, live blogs or player interviews, head here.
KABADDI, INDEED, IS A SPORT OF FINE MARGINS!
In this sport, time and again, we have seen that the team that holds onto its nerves better, wins. Manjeet will need to forget the last raid as soon as possible. He was too eager to level the scores and tie the game, but stepped into the lobby before getting the touch.
We also need to admit that Delhi's offense was the saving grace tonight. The corners, Pahal and Narwal, were simply poor today and gifted points more often than not. Girish Ernak's 4 tackle points and Surjeet Singh's 2 tackle points proved to be too little in the end. Pune was coming off two string victories against Patna and Gujarat in the Patna leg, but it failed to replicate that performance tonight. In all honesty, it is to be blamed for the result tonight. Thanks to Naveen and CR66, Delhi is able to stay atop.
A great game, nevertheless. Naveen Kumar notched up yet another Super10, who finished with 11 raid points in the end. Ranjit bagged 8 raid points. On the other end, Nitin Tomar finished with 8 raid points, followed by Manjeet with 6 raid points.
PUNE has now lost 4 games this season.
WITH THIS WIN, DABANG DELHI LEAPFROGS TO THE TOP OF THE TABLE WITH 5 WINS OUT OF 6 GAMES.
The replay shows Manjeet stepped out of bounds by a few centimetres and that's how small the room for error is in this sport.
OH, NO! WHAT DISASTROUS END TO AN OTHERWISE NAIL-BITER OF A MATCH! THAT WAS A COSTLY ERROR BY MANJEET, ESPECIALLY AT A TIME PUNE COULD HAVE TIED THE GAME, IF NOT GONE AHEAD!
30-32: LAST RAID OF THE MATCH AND IT'S MANJEET! AND HE STEPS OUT OF BOUNDS. SELF-OUT AS HE ENTERS THE LOBBY BEFORE GETTING THE TOUCH.
30-31: ONE POINT DIFFERENCE NOW. RANJIT CAN'T EVADE IN TIME.
29-31: This time, Manjeet gets the better of Vishal Mane. NITIN TOMAR HAS SPENT ALMOST 20 MINUTES ON THE MAT! HORRIFIC!
28-31: Bonus point for Manjeet, but doesn't look like it's enough.
27-31: 90 seconds to go and this is could be the final in the coffin. Vijay with two successive tackle points. First Pankaj Mohit and now Nitin Tomar. Two big men on the mat the things worsen for Pune.
27-30: As smooth as butter, is Naveen Kumar. He executes a slick toe touch on Hadi Tajik and races back to safety. REMEMBER, HE HASN'T BEEN TACKLED EVEN ONCE TONIGHT!
27-29: Manjeet uses his reach to great effect AND ONCE AGAIN, IT'S DELHI CORNERS WHICH MAKE THE MISTAKE! THIS TIME, IT IS JOGINDER NARWAL.
THREE MINUTES TO GO!
26-29: Vijay floors Mohite!
26-28: Do-or-die raid. The pressure in on the raider, Neeraj Narwal is sent in. He just ogt subbed on for Vishal Mane and is sent right back straight away. Surjeet tussles with the raider and emerges triumphant!
IT'S A 3-POINT GAME AND 4 MINUTES TO GO!
25-28: Is the tide turning towards Puneri Paltan?M Manjeet is able to get out of Pahal's ankle hold on time and scramble back to safety.
24-28: Do-or-die raid and Chandran Ranjit is sent in and he fails. Surjeet and Girish bring in the chain tackle and 2 important points for the Paltan. SUPER-TACKLE!
22-28: Niting Tomar, with 8 raid points, is floored by Vishal Mane. Good job, Mane! Brilliant chest hold and takes him out with him.
LESS THAN 7 MINUTES TO PLAY! IT'S A 5-POINT GAME, BUT WE ARE NO STRANGERS TO THE SPORT! WE ALL KNOW HOW QUICKLY THE GAME CAN CHANGE!
PUNE TAKES A TIME OUT.
22-27: Nitin Kumar gets the better of Anil Kumar.
20-27: SUPER10 FOR NAVEEN KUMAR AND WE AREN'T SURPRISED! Once again, it's his speed that nobody can match. Mohit, off you go to the bench!
20-26: Ravinder Pahal in the right corner has been absolute horrible today. He just can't seem to get an ankle hold right. This time, Nitin Tomar accepts the gifts.
19-26: CR66, Chandran Ranjit now gets Sanket Sawant.
19-25: Not a bad ploy to begin with. Tomar bags his 5th point of the night and another bonus point.
LESS THAN 10 MINUTES TO GO, FELLOW KABADDI LOVERS? WHO YOU GOT? TWEET TO US AT @sportstarweb and let us know your predictions.
18-25: WHAT WERE YOU TRYING TO DO THERE, MANJEET? It was a nothing tackle. Ranjit was on his way back, but Manjeet decided to gift himself to the raider. You shouldn't even do that in practice!
18-24: Mohit continues to impress. Heavy running hand touch on Ravinder Pahal.
17-23: That's how you do it, Pankaj! Narwal is leaking points here and he gifts a point in the same fashion. Mohite tries a touch touch off him, but Narwal back off on time and then lets the raider slip away with a poor and weak ankle hold.
16-23: Bonus point for Pankaj Mohite, but no revival.
15-23: 9th point on the night for Naveen Kumar. Sagar Krishna isn't able to hold him back with an ankle hold! WELL, NOBODY HAS! SO TRY SOMETHING ELSE, MAYBE?
15-22: Tomar goes way too close to comfort! He tried to go for left cover before Anil Kumar went low and put in a double thigh hold from the centre to get a tackle point. Totally caught the raider off-guard!
15-21: Pankaj Mohite helping with defensive duties! He sends the man high on confidence, Ranjit back to the bench. only 3rd successful tackle so far for the team, as opposed to 11 unsuccessful tackles!
14-21: Hadi Tajik gets his first point of the match! He waited for Vishal Mane, who is prone to these mistakes, to come off the block and commit another error! There was no need for that futile chest hold attempt there, Mane!
13-21: This man is so good to watch! He gets a point on the turn, which is not his strength. Manjeet gifts him a point by putting in a poor ankle hold!
13-20: Manjeet is winning the battle against Joginder Nawarl. HE goes in deep and gets a good, solid touch off Narwal and left corner!
12-20: Outstanding! RANJIT WITH A BIG FISH! HE WENT IN FOR NITIN TOMAR AND HE GOES BACK WITH A MASSIVE POINT. 5th point for him.
12-19: Nitin Tomar starts off with a bonus point.
Let's see what happens in the final 20 of the day.
BOTH TEAMS LOOKED FAIRLY EVENLY MATCHED UNTIL THE NAVEEN KUMAR EXPRESS TOOK OFF.
Pune is off to a slow start! Nitin Tomar was used well by the team in the first 10 and he delivered as well. But to my utter surprise, he only raided twice in the last 10. Pune's super-sub, Mohit was brought on earlier than usual, but apart from a couple of early points, he didn't trouble the scorers! 9 unsuccessful tackles for Pune is one more reason by Pune is trailing by 8 points by half-time.
As expected, Naveen Kumar is leading Delhi's attack as he alrready notched up 8 raiding points. He is followed by Chandran Ranjit with 4 raid point. Ravinder Pahal put in some vicious tackles and brought down the Pune raiders one by one. 3 tackle points for him already!
THIS BRINGS THE FIRST HALF TO AN END and aren't we glad to see a raid-heavy game?
11-19: Easy picking for Pahal. Mohit is thrown up in the air by Pahal before being brought down to a complete hault by the defender.
11-18: Can anybody stop Naveen Kumar? Girish tries with an ankle hold, but to no good! Kumar just two points away from a Super10.
BOTH TEAMS ARE OUT OF REVIEWS NOW
11-17: That's a good raid by Manjeet. He pushed the defender off the mat on his way back! Delhie reviews the call and the review is deemed unsuccessful. The raider didn't cross the line before going out of bounds with the defender, Vishal Mane.
10-17: Another raid and another point for Naveen. This time, a bonus point.
LESS THAN 3 MINUTES TO GO IN THIS HALF!
10-16: HE'S SO GOOD, IS NAVEEN KUMAR! SO VERY QUICK! SURJEET COMPLETELY FOXED BY NAVEEN'S SPEED THERE! HE COMES OFF THE BLOCK WITH A DASH ON NAVEEN, BUT THE RAIDER WAS JUST TOO QUICK!
9-15: Do-or-die raid for Pune and Mohit cannot evade on time. He tried going under Ravinder Pahal, but the latter manages to tackle the raider on time.
9-14: If there is one man you can bank on in the defense, it's Girish Ernak. Brilliant chest hold on Ranjit, who was extremely slow on the turn.
8-14: Naveen Kumar with a bonus point! 5 raid points to his account and 4 for Ranjit already! 7 raid points for Pune in total and 3 of those belong to Tomar.
8-13: Vishal Mane is sent back by Mohite!
7-13: Now, a bonus point for Ranjit. That was smart! He ran in and quickly got a bonus and then ran the clock down! Well done!
6-11: Nitin Tomar is back and he starts off with a bang! A quick toe touch on Ravinder Pahal, who is unable to contain him with a weak ankle hold attempt in the right corner!
5-11: ALL-OUT! DELHI INFLICTS AN ALL-OUT ON PUNE! Look at that.
YOU HAVE TO SAY, WHAT A COLLOSAL WASTE OF A REVIEW! None left with Pune.
Pune reviewed the referee's call as it claimed to have earned a bonus point in that raid, but the review is deemed unsuccessful.
5-8: Manjeet tried a toe touch on Vishal Mane in the left corner, but he is tad too later there as he is brought down with an ankle hold is supported well by Pahal.
5-7: Shubham Shinde is sent to the bench by Naveen Kumar. WOW, THAT WAS JUST TOO FAST FOR SHINDE! Naveen Kumar went for the right corner and what a convincinf touch he managed there!
5-6: Pankaj Mohit subbed in for Girish Ernak and he delivers! From two to three men on the mat for Pune now. He has been so impressive whenver he has been sent in as a substitute!
3-6: Do-or-die raid and Naveen Kumar doesn't disappoint! Sanket Sawant put in a desperate ankle hold and he managed to floor Naveen, but the raider literally carried him back to his own half!
3-5: Do-or-die raid for Pune and the onus is on the youngster, Amit Kumar and he runs straight into the arms of Ranjit! NO, you don't do that!
3-4: NAVEEN 'EXPRESS' KUMAR IS OFF AND RUNNING! GETS THE BETTER OF SURJEET WITH A GREAT RUNNING HAND TOUCH!
3-3: Excellent effort by Joginder Narwal. He was trying to track back after venturing in too deep into the left corner, but that gave Narwal enough time to charge in with a double thigh hold and he is pinned down.
3-2: Pune moves into the lead with a bonus point by Amit Kumar.
2-2: Not this time, says Surjeet! What a tackle on Chanran Ranjit, who literally ran into his arms! No successive successful raid for Ranjit.
1-2: WELCOME BACK, NITIN TOMAR! Pune's star raider with the first raid of Season 7 and he is off the mark straight away with a bonus point.
0-2: Chandran Ranjit with the first raid of the match and he starts with a 2-point raid.
LET THE PANGA BEGIN!
Toss: Puneri Paltan won the toss and Dabang Delhi will raid first
We now move to the second match of the night between Puneri Paltan and Dabang Delhi
Gujarat is off to a poor start in its home leg and this is the team's second loss at home!
Ajay Thakur with 9 raid points on the night and ably supported by Mohit and Manjeet Chhillar in the defense powers Tamil Thalaivas to a 34-28 victory over the Gujarat Fortunegiants.
BUT THIS NIGHT BELONGS TO THE THALAIVAS! We keep mentioning how the men from Tamil Nadu love the last 10 minutes and this match bears testament to the fact.
GUJARAT FORTUNEGIANTS SUCCUMBS TO ITS THIRD CONSECUTIVE LOSS. THIS IS THE FIRST TIME GUJARAT HAS SUFFERED SUCH A POOR RUN IN FORM!
28-34: Rahul Chaudhari puts in an empty raid and THAT'S THAT!
28-34: Two-point raid for both Rohit Gulia. Manjeet Chhillar and Mohit Chhillar sent back.
26-34: ALL-OUT! 2ND ONE INFLICTED ON GUJARAT! The job is done now. Coming to the raid, it was a walk in the park for Showman Chaudhari, really. Only one man on the mat was remaining for Gujarat and he got a easy touch point off Sunil Kumar.
26-30: Sonu Jaglan, the super-sub, is tackled by Mohit Chhillar. High 5 for Mohit AFTER putting in a double ankle hold on Sonu.
Thakur challenged the call, claiming he should get 4 points, but the review is deemed unsuccessful.
26-29: Sachin, Ankit and More G B put in a chain tackle, but Ajay Thakur over-powers them all and somehow, just somehow, gets his hand past the mid-line.
YES, HE HAS! SUPER-RAID FOR AJAY THAKUR AND WHAT A TIME TO GET THAT! FIRST SUPER RAID OF THE MATCH.
HAS AJAY THAKUR WON IT FOR THALAIVAS? HAS AJAY THAKUR JUST EXECUTED THE RAID OF THE MATCH?
26-26: I CAN BARELY WATCH THIS! Double thigh hold by Manjeet Chhillar and he lifts the raider, Rohit Gulia up in the air and throws him back to the bench.
26-25: ALL-OUT EFFECTED HERE BY GUJARAT ON THALAIVAS! Vineet Sharma, the sole man for the Thalaivas AND HE IS DISMISSED! He did get a bonus point, but he couldn't escape Sunil Kumar's ankle hold!
EVERY POINT IS CRITICAL HERE AS LESS THAN 4 MINUTES REMAIN!
23-24: GUJARAT COMING BACK INTO THE GAME AND HOW! Shabeer Bappu falls prey to Rohit Gulia''s running hand touch and Gujarat is staring at an all-out. ONLY ONE MAN ON THE MAT FOR TAMIL THALAIVAS.!
22-24: DO-or-die raid for Rahul Chaudhari. This IS ABSOLUTE MASSIVE FOR THE FORTUNEGIANTS! not only was Chaudhari caught off guard, but so was I. He had his back to Sunil Kumar, who pounced at him and is ably supported by his team-mates!
THE TEMPERS ARE RED HOT AT THE MOMENT!
SUNIL KUMAR WITH A HIGH 5 ON THE NIGHT!
Trust me when I say this, you wouldn't want to a Fortunegiant right now! During Thalaivas' time out, Gujarat's coach, Manpreet is giving serious stick to his players. In such a tense situation where one mistake can lead to the match falling into your opponent's lap, this is the last thing you'd want to hear. But hey, who knows this is just the talk his players need to hear. Let's find out!
21-23: Well done there, Rohit Gulia ! Brilliant running hand touch off Ajeet on the turn and he literally ran away with the point.
19-23: THERE IS SO MUCH DRAMA AT THE EKA ARENA! Gujarat's coach, Manjeet is screaming his lungs out of frustration and that will not go down too well with the referees!
5 points scored by Gujarat as opposed to Thalaivas'1 point in the last 5 minutes.
Manjeet Chhillar, Rahul Chaudhari and Ajay Thakur on the bench for Tamil Thalaivas. THIS HAS TO BE THE BENCH OPPORTUNITY FOR GUJARAT TO CLAW ITS WAY BACK INTO THE GAME.
OFFICIAL TIME OUT!
19-22: Lead brought down to three points! This could be anybody's game. It was a do-or-die raid for Ajay Thakur and he seems to have lost his concentration for a bit. However, a moment of confusion/ indecisiveness in this sport can cause great harm and that's exactly what happened here! Ankit with a brilliant tackle!
18-22: Another careless mistake by Manjeet Chhillar! What was that? It was full of confusion. He first tried to charge into Gulia and instantly tried to back away, but he was never going to evade ohit Gulia's flying hand in time.
IT'S A 5-POINT GAME AND THE LAST 7 MINUTES HOLD A LOT OF PROMISE!
17-22: Bonus point for Gulia.
16-22: SUPER-TACKLE FOR GUJARAT! What was that? Rahul Chaudhari races in to raid and is pinned down equally quickly. But one point is awared to Tamil Thalaivas as well because Parvesh Bhainswal had stepped out oif bounds before the tackle was executed!
14-20: Sachin Tanwar claims to have gotten a touch point off the defender's short and the umpire had awarded it. The Thalaivas challenge the call and the review has been taken and IT IS DEEMED SUCCESSFUL! BRILLIANT REVIEW!
14-19: Do-or-die raid and this time, Ajay Thakur fails. Sunil Kumar with a brilliant chest hold on the Thalaivas' skipper.
13-19: Chaudhari is revived and thankfully so for the men from Tamil Nadu. He has only bagged 2 points so far, but we all know how much he loves the final 10 minutes.
13-19: Rohit Gulia, in the do-or-die raid, is held back successfully by Manjeet Chhillar.
12-18: Do-or-die raid and once again, Rahul Chaudhari is sent ot the bench. He tried a toe touch on the left corner, ventured in too deep and gave Bhainswal enough time to charge in to the raider and throw him off the bench.
11-18: THE GAP IS WIDENING AND THE TAMIL THALIAVAS IS RUNNING AWAY WITH IT! Sachin Tanwar is floored by Manjeet Chhillar, who scores his 2nd tackle pint of the night.
11-17: Do-or-die raid and Chaudhari delivers. He nicks off a quick bonus point.
11-16: More GB is subbed in. Rohit Gulia now comes in to raid and he has been ushered off the mat. Rahul Chaudhari, who is back on the mat, leads the tackle and pulls off a great chest hold.
11-15: Rohit Gulia, with 2 raid points so far, scores the first point of the last 20. A beautiful flying kick on Manjeet Chhillar's waist
10-15: Shabeer Bappu comes in for the first raid of the second half and goes back empty handed.
Second half, here we go!
For Gujarat, Sachin Tanwar started off with successive raids and was able to keep Manjeet Chhillar quiet. But not for too long. Manjeet Chhillar is back to form and has been at the fore of his side's defense.
Phew! Those last three minutes were full of anticipation, tension and action! Both teams started off quietly, with equal number of raid points and tackle points coming in from both ends, before the Ajay Thakur decided to take the matter into his own hands. In Chaudhari's absence on the mat, he has led the way, just like a true leader and has taken his team into a 5-point lead.
10-15: ALL-OUT! THE FIRST ONE HAS BEEN INFLICTED ON THE HOSTS, GUJARAT! WHAT A WAY TO END THE FIRST HALF! Ajay Thakur sends Ruturaj Koravi and Rohit Gulia and in the dying stages of first half, the Thalaivas race to a 5-point lead.
10-11: Do-or-die raid and what have you done, Manjeet? That's a gift and the lead is now of just 1 point.
8-11: It's a 3-point lead for the Thalaivas. What a raid by Thakur. He first gets a touch point off Sunil and then uses the lobby to get back to the mid-line. He then sees Parvesh Bhainswal charging in with a dash and thanks to his agility, he dives over Bhainswal and gets a touch past the white line just in the nick of time. MIND-BLOWING RAID THERE!
8-9: Manjeet gets his revenge and does it in style! He dives into Sachin Tanwar and floors him before receiving adequate support from the rest of the defense.
8-8: Do-or-die raid for the Thalaivas and once again, Ajay Thakur stamps his authority. His second point of the night. A flying kick on Sumit and the scores are back level.
8-7: Gujarat moves ahead by a solitary point. Sachin Tanwar with a 2-POINT RAID.
Ran Singh and Ajeet HAVE TO WALK BACK. How do you over-power a double ankle hold? Ask Sachin. Phenomenal!
6-6: Harmanjit Singh for a do-or-die raid and Mohit Chhillar pins him down with great technique. A brilliant ankle hold to send the raider back.
We are off to a quiet start in Ahmedabad. It's pretty much even so far, as both teams have started cautiously.
6-5: EQUAL NUMBER OF TACKLE POINTS FOR BOTH THE TEAMS SO FAR. 2 EACH, TO BE PRECISE!
5-5: SCORES LEVEL! Mohit Chhillar leads the tackle on Rohit Gulia in Gujarat's do-or-die raid and the rest of the team obliges. There was no escaping for Gulia there.
5-4: Shabeer Bappu now bags a raid point. Brilliant touch point off Sunil Kumar.
5-3: Ajay Thakur goes in too deep gives Ankit enough time to put in a chest hold and throw Thakur out of bounds. Wonderful tackle!
12 MINUTES TO GO!
4-3: Look at that tackle! Double thigh hold by Shabeer Bappu and Gujarat's main raider, Sachin Tanwar is sent off the mat.
4-2: Ajay Thakur scores his first point of the match. Sunil Kumar puts in a futile tackle and in all honesty, it was an easy touch point for Thakur.
4-1: DEJAVU! Sachin Tanwar with his second point of the night and once again, he sends Manjeet back to the bench.
3-1: Do-or-die raid for Gujarat. Harmanjit doesn't disappoint. He sends Ajeet to the bench. Ajeet hasn't been in form and Thalaivas would he makes an impact on the mat tonight.
2-1: Tamil Thalaivas get its first point of the night, courtesy a bonus point.
2-0: PARVESH BHAINSWAL GETS THE SHOWMAN, RAHUL CHAUDHARI AND off he goes to the bench. What a dash by Parvesh and he gets going too.
1-0: Rohit Gulia starts with an empty raid and TAAPSEE PANNU is in the commentary box.
1-0: Tamil Thalaivas'skipper, Ajay Thakur in the house, folks! The iceman, if he gets going, he'll be hard to stop! I am sure Gujarat knows that.
1-0: 864 RAID POINTS AND LOOK WHO'S HERE TO RAID FIRST FOR THE THALAIAVS. IT'S RAHUL CHAUDHARI. He starts with an empty raid.
1-0: Sachin Tanwar comes in for the first raid to begin the proceedings of the Ahmedabad leg and the right corner gifts him a raid point. GUJARAT IS UP AND RUNNING AND WE ARE OFF THE MARK IN AHMEDABAD. Manjeet Chhillar makes the first mistake of the match.
LET THE PANGA BEGIN!
TOSS: Tamil Thalaivas wins the toss and Gujarat Fortunegiants will raid first.
Akshay Kumar is in the house tonight! An avid Kabaddi lover, he will be joining the commentary team tonight! Last week in Patna, we had Harbhajan Singh graced the occasion with his presence. Now, it's 'Khiladi's' turn.
We are just 15 minutes away from the first raid of the Ahmedabad Leg. Here are your squads for the first match of the night
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