Dabang Delhi will lock horns with Bengal Warriors in the final of the Pro Kabaddi League (PKL 2019) in Ahmedabad's EKA Arena on Saturday. It has the makings of a fantastic contest as both teams are playing in their first PKL final and will be eager to get their hands on the coveted title.
The Joginder Narwal-led Dabang Delhi enjoyed a stirring campaign and topped the league stage with 85 points from 22 matches, thereby assuring itself of a direct semifinal berth. And what stood between the side and a maiden final appearance was the defending champion - Bengaluru Bulls. In a match that pitted two of the league's best raiders -- Naveen Kumar and Pawan Kumar Sehrawat -- against each other, it was the former who ended on the winning side. Naveen claimed his 20th consecutive Super 10 to power his team to the final.
READ | PKL final preview: Bengal Warriors holds slight edge over table-topper Dabang Delhi
On the other hand, Bengal Warriors earned a hard-fought two-point win over season two champion U Mumba to set up a final date with Dabang Delhi. The side's star raider Maninder Singh missed the game owing to injury, but Sukesh Hegde and Iran's Mohammed Esmaeil Nabibakhsh stepped up to the task and steered the Warriors to a 37-35 victory.
Ahead of Saturday's PKL final, here are some key stats:
- Number of times Dabang Delhi has beaten Bengal Warriors in PKL 2019
1 - Dabang Delhi and Bengal Warriors will both be playing their first PKL final
2 - Bengal Warriors' Sukesh Hegde will be playing his second PKL final. He captained Gujarat Fortunegiants in season five, but ended up on the losing side
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3 - Dabang Delhi's Vishal Mane needs three tackle points to reach 200 tackle points | If Dabang Delhi wins, Vishal will become the first player to win the PKL title with three teams (Season two with U Mumba, Season five with Patna Pirates)
4 - Naveen Kumar finished four matches with zero failed raids, the only raider to do so. Among raiders who have made a minimum of 200 raids this season, Naveen has failed the least number of raids (15 per cent) | Bengal Warriors' Jeeva Kumar will be playing in his fourth PKL final. All his previous finals were with U Mumba
5.8 - Dabang Delhi averages 5.8 bonus points per game, the second highest this season
7 - Bengal Warriors is the best when it comes to staging comebacks - it has staged a comeback in seven of the 10 matches where it has trailed by three points or more the second half of PKL 2019
19 - Dabang Delhi's ace raider Naveen Kumar is 19 years old, the youngest in the PKL 2019 final
14 - The number of times the two sides have faced each other in PKL - both teams have won six times, while two games ended in a tie
20 - Number of Super 10's Naveen Kumar has registered this season
49 - Bengal Warriors' support raiders in K. Prapanjan, Mohammed Esmaeil Nabibakhsh and Sukesh Hegde have contributed to 49 per cent of the team's total raid points, Maninder has contributed 42 per cent
64 - Bengal Warriors' right corner Baldev Singh heads into the PKL 2019 with the 64 tackle points, the most among the finalists and fifth-best in the league
80 - Number of raid points Naveen Kumar has scored in the first 10 minutes of games so far - the most in PKL 2019
100 - This will be Sukesh Hegde's 100th PKL match
205 - Maninder Singh has 205 raid points to his name
285 - Naveen Kumar is third on the list of total points this season as he has pocketed 285 points ahead of the final
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