That's all the action we have for you today. Thank you so much for joining us. Hope you had a great time following updates on a brilliant day of Kabaddi. See you tomorrow again at 7pm. Till then, this is Shivansh Gupta bidding good night. Ciao!
Phew! What a night of Kabaddi this was. Earlier today, we saw Naveen Kumar (17 points) and Meraj Sheykh (12 points) helped Delhi storm to a 50-34 victory over Tamil Thalaivas. With this result, the latter slumped to its sixth consecutive defeat while Delhi became the first team to reach the 50-point mark this season. Later on, Bengal managed to edge past Puneri Paltan with a three-point victory, thanks to Nabibakhsh's five-point raid in the final 33 seconds of the match.
A moment of carelessness from the Pune defence resulted into a super-raid cum all-out instead of a super-tackle. Down and out, there was very little chance for Nabi to get his hand past the mid-line. But a small lapse in concentration by JADHAV AND SHINDE meant Bengal inched with a one-point lead with 33 seconds remaining. Then, to top it off, Maninder ended the night with a super-10 and ensured his team tasted yet another victory.
Ladies and gentlement, this game bears testament to the fact that one raid is all it takes for the match to turn on its head. Today, it was provided by Mohammad Nabibakhsh of Bengal Warriors. With errors constantly creeping in from the host's defence, it looked like Pankaj Mohite and co. had secured a victory, but it wasn't to be.
WHAT A GAME! TOPSY-TURVY! MOMENTUM SHIFTING HANDS TIME AND AGAIN, BUT IT'S BENGAL WARRIORS THAT CLIMBS TO SECOND IN THE POINTS TABLE WITH A BRILLIANT COMEBACK IN THE LAST 83 SECONDS OF THE MATCH.
39-42: SUPER 10 FOR MANINDER AND THAT'S FULL TIME! MANDINDER GETS THE BETTER OF BALASAHEB JADHAV AND CRAWLS BACK TO SAFETY.
Balasaheb Jadhav and Shubham Shinde went in for the tackle and seemed to have contained Nabi. Manjeet joins, but none of the the players are able to contain the dangling hand out. Oh, boy!
39-40: SUPER RAID, ALL OUT AND WHAT HAVE WE JUST SEEN HERE!!!!!!! MOHAMMAD NABIBAKHSH HAS TAKEN THREE PUNE MEN OUT AND CLINCHED TWO POINTS FOR AN ALL-OUT!
39-35: Do-or-die raid and Pankah is taking his time. He goes in for the kill in the final eight secondds and the runs down the clock. Even though he didn't get a point, he did manage to kill a lot of time.
LESS THAN 90 SECONDS TO GO!
39-34: Nabibakhsh backtracks successfully from a Surjeet Singh chest hold and Bengal will look to try and claim at least one point from this contest by trying to finish within a margin of seven points.
39-33: Surjeet gets Maninder with a brilliant diving ankle hold and with less than two mintues to go, the lead is back up to six points.
38-33: SUPER RAID AND GAME ON! WHAT A RAID BY SUKESH HEGDE! Girish, Manjeet and Hadi Tajik have been benched. Manjeet with the ankle hold, Hadi goes in and on the way back, gets a touch point off Manjeet. The game is well and truly alive.
38-30: Do-or-die raid for Pune. Pankaj Mohite is in to raid and that's a freebie by Mayur. The defender went in for a solo tackle to Pankaj's thighs. The raider, however, managed to jump himslef out of trouble with ease.
37-30: Sukesh Hegde with a quick bonus point. The gap is still of seven.
37-29: THANK YOU VERY MUCH, SAYS HADI! He returns the favour with by sending Bengal's captain, Maninder Singh back to the bench with a tackle.
36-29: With seven men back on the mat for Bengal , Baldev Singh made the most of it by flooring Darshan Kadian with a brilliant thigh hold. Baldev, with four tackle points, is the leading defender so far.
36-28: ALL-OUT! BENGAL HAS SUCCUMBED TO ITS SECOND ALL-OUT AND HOW GOOD IS PUNERI PALTAN LOOKING TODAY? MANJEET AND GIRISH ERNAK COMBINE TO TACKLE HEDGE!
32-26: SUPER 10!!! Pankaj Mohite gets the better of Mayur Shivtarkar. Prapanjan goes back to the bench due to Hadi Tajik thigh hold.
30-26: Bengal raiders Maninder and Nabibakhsh head to the bench after successive unsuccessful raids. TIME-OUT TAKEN! Pankaj Mohite is one point away from a SUPER 10.
28-26: Manjeet is at it once again! He got the bonus first and then he touched Baldev Singh on the retreat. Two-point lead for Bengal Warriors against Puneri Paltan.
26-25: Pankaj Mohite fails in a do or die raid for Puneri Paltan. But Bengal's Nabibakhsh succeeds! He twists and turns to escape Girish Ernak's hold.
25-24: Manjeet with one more bonus. Mohammad Nabibakhsh gets the running hand touch right on Balasaheb Jadhav, the very next raid.
24-23: Manjeet you beauty! The Pune lad has been the best all-rounder of the season. He executes a perfect ankle hold on Prapanjan. Warrior skipper Maninder sends his opposite number Surjeet to the bench with a toe touch.
23-22: Puneri Paltan's Emad Sedaghatnia went in for the raid and he was quickly and successfully tackled by Rinku Narwal. In the next raid, Pankaj Mohite got the better of Bengal's Mayur Shivtarkar to regain his side's lead.
22-21: THE LEAD GOES BACK TO PUNE! First up, Manjeet bagged a bonus point, Then Mohammad Nabibaksh was taken out with a dash by Hadi Tajik.
The second haf is underway!
However, Pune didn't let go off the match and kept the scorecard at bay. Pankaj Mohite's two consecutive two-point raids helped his side inflict the first all-out on Bengal. Towards the fag end of the first half, a great tackle by Jeeva Kumar helped Bengal walk in to the break with a slender lead of one point.
HALF-TIME! K Prapanjan ends the first half with an empty raid and this has been one enthralling encounter. Bengal started slowly and found itself trailing by four points. But a super tackle and a super raid saw the host crawl right back and went on to inflict the first all-out.
20-21: BENGAL IN THE LEAD AGAIN! I am having such a hard time keeping up. First, Jeeva Kumar tackled Emad Sedaghatnia followed by a successful raid by Maninder Singh on Surjeet Singh.
20-19: ALL-OUT! SUKESH HEDGE CAME IN TO RAID, BUT COULD NOT EVADE THE GIRISH ANKLE HOLD ON TIME.
17-18: IT'S A ONE-POINT GAME NOW! Pankaj with another two-point raid. This time, he sends K. Prapanjan and Mayur Shivtarkar back.
15-17: Rinku and Baldev have been sent back. WHAT WAS THIS FROM MOHITE? A mid-air dubki by Mohite. Gets a touch off Rinku and on his way back, evaded a block from Baldev Singh.
13-17: Slow on the retreat there, Emad and K Prapanjan doesn't miss out. He get s a running hand touch off the Iranian.
13-16: PUNE ISN'T LETTING GO OFF THIS! Emad with a brilliant raid. He went right towards Bengal's left corner. He tried to get a touch off Rinku, but ended up picking up Nabi.
12-16: K Prapankan with a bonus point inthe right corner.
11-15: Manjeet now sends Mayur back with a running hand touch.
10-14: Mayur continues to impress from right cover. He came in high to defend and just when Pankal Mohite tried an ankle hold on him, he crouched quickly and held him back with a thigh hold.
10-13: First start for Iranian Emad Sedaghatnia. Starts with an empty raid.
10-13: Girish Maruti Ernak is off the mark with a brilliant tackle on Prapanjan.
9-13: ALL-OUT! BENGAL WARRIORS INFLICTS THE FIRST ALL-OUT ON PUNERI PALTAN.Baldev Singh put in a great ankle hold on the last man standing, Amit Kumar NYP.
8-10: Darshan Kadian with a desperate ankle hold on Maninder, but the raider overpowers him easily.
8-9: Darshan Kadian is subbed in for Girish Ernak for the raid. He got a bonus point and then claims to have gotten a touch on Mayur. The officials, after discussion, grant a touch point off Mayur.
6-9: Maninder brushes Surjeet Singh aside as Pune is down to one men.
6-8: Mayur Shivtarkar with a brilliant double thigh hold on Mohite.
5-6: Bonus point for Pankaj Mohite.
4-6: SUPER RAID AND THAT'S HOW YOU TAKE THE LEAD IN STYLE! A great block by Baldev Singh, but he couldn't keep the raider in, who takes two more defenders back with him.
4-3: SUPER-TACKLE! Manjeet is tackled by Rinku Narwal and Jeeva Kumar. The latter charged in with a dash and was ably supported by Baldev Singh and Jeeva Kumar.
4-1: Bengal is off the mark with a bonus point by K. Prapanjan.
4-0: THAT'S THE FAMOUS SURJEET DASH-BLOCK TACKLE ON THE RAIDER. Mohammad Nabibaksh is floored by Manjeet and Bengal is yet to get off the mark.
3-0: Surjeet with a running hand touch on the defender and the lead is up to three.
2-0: Pankaj Mohite, with a brace on his forehead, gets his night going with a bonus point.
1-0: Maninder comes in to raid and he is tackled. Brilliant thigh hold by Balasaheb followed by chest hold by Surjeet.
Toss: Puneri Paltan wins the toss and Bengal Warriors will raid first.
WHAT TO LOOK FORWARD TO IN THIS MATCH?
It's now time for one the best raiding sides of the season to take on one of the best defensive sides of PKL 7. The second match of the night promises to be an absolute belter of a match. Maninder Singh will lead Bengal Warriors against Surjeet Singh's Puneri Paltan.
The two captains of the night are former team-mates. The two played two season together (season 5 and 6) before Surjeet moved to Pune at the start of this season.
Moreover, both teamsin their last 5 matches (2 wins, 2 losses, 1 tie) have had identical results and both are coming off a tie.
He has been in good form of late with 46 raid points in his last 5 matches with 2 Super 10s. Bengal Warriors is still the only team to have three raiders with at least 50 raid points so far this season.
On the other hand, Surjeet Singh has blow cold. A few weeks ago, Pune’s lead defender and captain Surjeet Singh had got into a good run of form. However in recent games, he has hit a rough patch.
In 2 of the last 4 matches (vs. U.P. Yoddha & U Mumba) he has finished with zero tackle points from eight total tackle attempts. In another game he had just one tackle point (vs. Telugu Titans)
THE DO-OR-DIE BATTLE : MANINDER SINGH vs. SURJEET SINGH
Maninder Singh has been Bengal Warriors’ best raider in Do or Die raids this season. His raid SR of 67 in DoD is the best among all Bengal raiders this season. Neither Prapanjan nor Mohammad Nabibakhsh have a raid SR > 50 in DoD raids.
But he will be up against the top defence in Do or Die raids in the form of Puneri Paltan. Pune have the best tackle SR in DoD raids among all teams.
And Surjeet has an astonishing tackle SR of 94 when it comes to DoD raids. He has the best tackle SR among all defenders with minimum 15 tackles made in DoD raids.
30-54: FULL TIME- The game ends with bonus points by Naveen Kumar and Rahul Chaudhari along with a toe touch on Mane by Chaudhari.
32-49: Super 10 is still a point away fro Ajith. He was sent in to raid, but could not evade Anil Kuamr's ankle hold.
32-48: Merja Sheykh has been tacked again, this time by Sagar.
31-48: Rahul answers back with a bonus point!
30-48: Naveen Kumar gets a quick bonus.
30-47: Yashwant Bishnoi is sent in surprisingly instead of V Ajith Kumar and the gamble didn't pay off. Anil Kumar puts in a diving ankle hold from right cover, floors the raider and waits for the rest of the team to do the rest.
3 minutes to go!
30-46: Ajith follows it up with a touch point off Joginder Narwal.
29-46: TACKLE POINT FOR TAMIL THALAIVAS! SAGAR FROM LEFT CORNER INITIATES A BRILLIANT CHEST HOLD ON MERAJ SHEYKH, WHO IS FINALLY TACKLED FOR THE FIRST TIME ON THE NIGHT!
28-46: A bonus point on the run for V Ajith Kumar. His 8th point of the night.
27-46: Joginder concedes a point to Tamil Thalaivas. After four warnings, the officials award a technical point to Chennai. There's no need for all that chatter really, especially when the lead is this big.
26-46: UTTER CARNAGE! Meraj Sheykh continues to run merry, this time with a runing hand touch on Vineet Sharma.
There's some technical issues on court holding up the play. Don't go anywhere as we are back with the remainder of game time.
OFFICIAL TIME-OUT TAKEN
26-45: Rahul Chaudhari steps out of bound and concedes yet another self-out.
25-43: Well done, Ajith. Ravinder Pahal came in a with a quick ankle hold, but Ajith used his arms and scampered back to his safety.
24-43: Chaudhari continues his good night. Yet another bonus for him.
23-42: SUPER 10 FOR RAHUL CHAUDHARI, THIRD OF HIS SEASON. He gets a running hand touch off Jogider Narwal in the left corner.
21-41: Running kick by Meraj on Yashwant Bishnoi.
21-40: V Ajith Kumar is floored by Joginder from left cover. He did well to get away from Ajay, but ended up going in too deep and made it easier for Joginder to put in a semir-dash.
19-38: Do-or-die raid for Delhi. Naveen goes in and storms past Ajeet yet again. Ajeet broke from the defence line and charged in with a solo chest block, but Naveen turned on time and broke free.
19-37: Self-out! After a string of impressive raids, Chaudhari steps out of bounds and he has to walk back.
19-36: Rahul Chaudhari finally gets a touch point. Used his height to great effect and extended his hand long to send Anil Kumar back. He followed that up with two-point raid. After bagging a bonus, he fends off a charging Vishal Mane from left cover. He dodges the tackle and stumbles back to safety.
16-35: SUPER-10 FOR MERAJ SHEYKH! Oh, boy! He has truly deserved it tonight. He gets to the 10-point mark with a bonus point.
16-34: ALL-OUT! This isn't even suprising anymore. Manjeet Chhillar was the last man standing when he went in to raid. He clinchd a bonus, but he had run out of bounds.
15-30: Bonus point and touch point off Anil Kumar by Ran Singh.
13-30: SUPER RAID! MERCILESS MERAJ SHEYKH has now bagged nine points on the night already. Ajeet, Yashwant Bishnoi and Sagar managed to floor the raider, but Meraj saved himself by dragging his body back to the line on time.
13-27: That is brilliant anticipation and positioning by Anil Kumar. What a brilliant double ankle hold by the defender on Ajith Kumar.
13-26: Rahul Chaudhari once again gets the bonus point, but cannot evade out of a strong ankle hold by Vijay.
12-25: SUPER-10 FOR NAVEEN KUMAR! He gets to the figure with a bonus point. 12th Super 10 in a row.
And we are back!
This is total demolition by Dabang Delhi. Two all-out in the first half, three tackle points with 16 raid points against 9 raid points and 1 tackle point of Chennai, Dabang Delhi is well on course for another win against Chennai. Naveen Kumar, as expected has been the team's leading raider with nine points and Meraj Sheykh has been second best with six points so far.
12-24: Empty raid by Ajith brings the first half to an end.
12-24: Meraj Sheykh has played second fiddle to Naveen brilliantly. Mohit Chhillar was too eager to get a tackle on Meraj and ended up conceding a point to Meraj.
12-23: ALL-OUT N0.2 FOR DELHI. Ravinder Pahal with a brilliant ankle hold by Pahal and this is as dominating as Delhi gets.
11-20: Rahul Chaudhari got a bonus point and then sends Ajeet back, who came in for a solo tackle.
10-19: Sliding toe touch on the right foot of Mohit Chhillar and Chennai is down to two men.
10-18: Superb stuff there by Naveen. Ran Singh and Ajay Thakur have to go back. The umpire initally gave one touch point. Delhi reviews is, claiming Naveen should be awarded two touch points. Replays shows that even Thakur has to go back as the two were holding hands for a chain tackle.
10-16: Ajay Thakur is off the mark. He send Ravinder Pahal back with a great touch point.
9-16: First, Rahul Chaudhari got a bonus point followed by Manjeet failing to contain Meraj. Any guesses how the raid played out? If you're thinking that Meraj was brought down and managed to crawal back to safety with the defender still clinging on to his feet, YOU'RE ABSOLUTELY RIGHT!
8-15: After Ajith, Naveen Kumar replicates the same mistake. He tried to go for Manjeet Chhillar and couldn't contain his momentum on time and ended up going out of bounds.
7-15: V Ajith Kumar has to go back to the bench. He ran into the lobby without getting a touch. Good pressure exerted by Joginder Narwal.
7-14: Do-or-die raid for Delhi. Meraj delivers under pressure with a kick on Mohit Chhillar, who found himself caught napping.
7-13: Young Ajith Kumar continues to impress. This time, he gets a running hand touch off Anil Kumar at left cover, who couldn't avoid the touch on time.
6-13: Do-or-die raid for Chennai. V Ajith Kumar is sent in and he bails his team out of trouble with a bonus point at the right corner.
5-13: Too hot to handle! Once again, Naveen Kumar gets the better of Ajeet. Another quick raid and another running hand touch by Maveen Kumar, who has already racked up five points.
Tamil Thalaivas' review is deemed unsuccesful. Another review wasted, this time for a bonus attempt by V Ajith Kumar.
5-11: ALL-OUT! DABANG DELHI HAS INFLICTED THE FIRST ALL-OUT ON TAMIL THALAIVAS. Mohit Chhillar was the last man on the mat and he went in to raid. Ravinder Pahal put in a double ankle hold and Mohit tried to jump over him, but he couldn't keep his balance.
3-8: Naveen KUmar follows it up by sending V Ajith Kumar back. Up against two, he went left and got a hefty touch off Kumar, who couldn't back out on time.
3-7: Down to two men, is Tamil Thalaivas. Naveen Kumar puts in a lightning quick raid and Ajeet couldn't keep up.
3-6: V Ajith Kumar in the do-or-die raid delivers. Running hand touch on Anil Kumar.
2-6: Naveen Kumar now sends Sagar back. He was subbed in a while back and tried to go for a double thigh hold. Once again, Naveen uses the frog jump to great effect and rubs back to safety.
2-5: Dejavu! Once again, Meraj Sheykh goes in to raid and is floored by the defender, but he overpowers Ran Singh and drags himself back to safety.
2-4: NOT THIS TIME, SAYS NAVEEN KUMAR as he gets his first point of the night. His agility helps him jump out of a thigh hold attempted by Mohit Chhillar.
2-3: Ajay Thakur has to go back again. This time, courtesy a tackle by Vishal Mane, who iniated the block, held him back and the rest of the team pounced at him.
2-2: Ajeet has to go back to the bench. Meraj Sheykh is floored by the defender, byt manages to scamper back to the line.
2-1: Do-or-die raid and Rahul Chaudhari delivers. Anil Kumar from Delhi had come in too far off from the defence line and became an easy target for Chaudhari's running hand touch. Ajay Thakur revived.
1-1: Vijay comes in to raid scores his 12th raid point of his PKL campaign. He sends Ajay Thakur back with a hand touch and revives Naveen Kumar.
1-0: Here comes Naveen Kumar and he is floored right away. HOW OFTEN DO YOU SEE NAVEEN GETTING TACKLED SO EARLY IN THE MATCH? Mohit Chhillar from the right corner with a strong block.
0-0: Ajay Thakur, the skipper, comes in to raid first. Starts with an empty raid.
Toss- Dabang Delhi wins the toss and Tamil Thalaivas will raid first
WHAT TO LOOK FORWARD TO IN THIS MATCH?
First up, we have the table-topper Dabang Delhi KC taking on a struggling Tamil Thalaivas. Delhi has had a phenomenal run so far with ten victories and only two losses. On the other hand, Tamil Thalaivas is sturggling to win games. Now winless in its last seven match, including a a five-match losing streak, the team will take the mat for the first time under its new coach.
Former India coach J. Udayakumar, who guided the nation to Asian Games gold medals in 2002, 2006 and 2014, will take charge of the side for the remainder of the Pro Kabaddi League (PKL 2019) season.
In this match, the contest to watch out for will be Thakur-Chaudhari vs Naveen Express. Yes, you heard that right. Two veterans of the sport (Ajay Thakur and Rahul Chaudhari) will try and outshine a new kid on the block, Naveen Kumar. Naveen Kumar single handedly has scored more raid points (157) than Rahul Chaudhari and Ajay Thakur combined (134) this season.Among raiders to have gone for a minimum of 150 raids, Naveen Kumar has the 2nd best raid SR (61).
On the other hand, Ajay Thakur has the worst raid SR (35) and Rahul Chaudhari has the 5th worst raid SR (41). The fact that two of Tamil Thalaivas lead raiders feature in the list seems to be a huge area of concern.
The general theory is that experienced raiders come on top in high pressure situations. However, the experienced Ajay Thakur has the highest failed D-o-D raid% this season. On the other hand, the young and inexperienced Naveen Kumar has the least failed D-o-D raid% this season.
Hence, it will be extremely interesting to see who comes out good tonight.
One of the very few positives for Chennai this season has been V Ajith Kumar, wh has been the real find of this season for the team. Last match against Telugu Titans, he started the match and scored his first-ever SUPER 10 in PKL.
In the last 4 matches, Ajith Kumar, though having gone for fewer raids than Ajay Thakur and Rahul Chaudhari has scored more raid points than them.With his late bursts, Ajith Kumar has given Tamil Thalaivas a new ray of hope. He has the 3rd best raid SR among raiders to have gone for a minimum of 25 raids in the last 10 minutes of the game this season.
But, an area of improvement for him would be the D-o-D situation where he has the 2nd worst raid SR among raiders who have gone for a minimum of 10 D-o-D raids.
How do the two teams look against each other?
Achievements to look out for?
Comments
SHARE