PKL: Gujarat reduces Delhi to rubble

Gujarat Fortunegiants preys on a spineless Delhi Dabang defence to register a thumping 42-22 win; Telugu Titans trumps Tamil Thalaivas.

Published : Oct 03, 2017 22:23 IST , Chennai

 Gujarat Fortunegiants’ Chandran Ranjit (centre) attempts a raid on his opponents.
Gujarat Fortunegiants’ Chandran Ranjit (centre) attempts a raid on his opponents.
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Gujarat Fortunegiants’ Chandran Ranjit (centre) attempts a raid on his opponents.

Playing a game befitting its tag, table-topper Gujarat Fortunegiants preyed on a spineless Dabang Delhi defence to register a thumping 42-22 win in its Zone A encounter at the Jawaharlal Nehru Indoor stadium here on Tuesday.

At the halfway mark, Gujarat led 27-9, having inflicted telling blows on a Dabang defence which appeared to have grown weaker with each passing minute. Gujarat's Chandran Ranjit and Sachin bagged nine and 11 raid points respectively to leave the opposition in complete disarray.

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Delhi, on the other hand, having lost in its last eight outings, failed to match the tempo set by Gujarat. With every raid in its half a poignant reflection of the disparity between two sides, it could only muster four tackle points to Gujarat's eight. Tapas Pal was the top defender with two points from four tackles while Iranian Abolfazal Moghsodlou was the top raider with six points from 15 raids.

Gujarat, meanwhile, gave a strong account of itself, having pocketed three All-Outs during the entire match - two of those coming in the first half. Rakesh Narwal effected the first when he nailed a lone defender to quadruple his team's lead 12-3 and the next when it cornered raider Vishal to further increase the deficit.

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Tamil Thalaivas defenders try to grab Rahul Chaudhari of Telugu Titans. Photo: B. Jothi Ramalingam
 

The second half only added more gloss to Gujarat's fortunes as its lead ballooned to an unassailable 20 points in no time. It was helped by another All-Out, taking the total tally to six. A watertight defence, spearheaded by Sunil Kumar who finished with six tackle points, hammered the proverbial nail in Delhi's coffin.

Titans romps home against Thalaivas

Even a spirited home crowd, with the decibels going through the roof, couldn't inspire the host Tamil Thalaivas as it succumbed to a 37-58 defeat against Telugu Titans in what had been billed as "The Southern Derby" by Kabaddi enthusiasts.

Titans led 30-15 at halftime and refused to wrest the advantage for the remaining 20 minutes of the match. For the visitor, captain Rahul Chaudhari led by example, scoring 16 points from 23 raids and, he was ably supported by Iranian raider Mohsen Maghsodlou and Nilesh Salunkhe who chipped in with 12 and 11 points respectively. 

Thalaivas, though, staged a promising counterattack in the second half led by skipper Ajay Thakur who, with his 20 points from 23 raids in the match, kept the host in the hunt. But all hopes faded as Titans romped home with an effortless ease - Titans' eight All-Outs to Thalaivas' two and 11 tackle points to three making all the difference in the end. 

Results: Gujarat Fortunegiants (42) bt Dabang Delhi K. C. (22); Telugu Titans (58) bt Tamil Thalaivas (37).

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