Meraj Sheykh, with his sheer speed and skill, stole the thunder from Deepak Hooda (15 points) as Dabang Delhi pounced on its opportunities to score a 40-29 win over Jaipur Pink Panthers in a Zone A match of the Vivo-ProKabaddi League at the National Sports Club of India (NSCI) here on Sunday.
It was Dabang’s fourth win in nine matches while Panthers, who won the title in the inaugural year, failed to cope with the individual brilliance of Meraj who scored nine vital points.
After giving away points to Hooda’s successful raids in the first 10 minutes of the opening session, Dabang delighted the big crowd with captain Joginder Narwal twice winning super tackle points against Hooda. However, the biggest moment for the Delhi side came when Meraj, nicknamed Cheetah, converted the do-or-die raid into a magical super raid, ejecting three defenders and winning three points. The Meraj moment happened four minutes before half-time as Dabang drew level at 10 and never looked back after that.
Hooda continued to score points for Panthers, but the wily raider was outperformed by Meraj. Chandran Ranjit and Naveen Kumar sustained the pressure on their rivals by pinching points through swift touches and lethal back-kicks on the odd occasion. Panthers was all out twice in the match.
The result: Delhi Dabang 40 beat Jaipur Pink Panthers 29.
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