Bengaluru upsets Jaipur, Dabang Delhi bags second win at home

Table-topper and favourite Jaipur Pink Panthers would not have expected things to turn out like it did against Bengaluru Bulls at New Delhi on Sunday. On the other hand, Dabang Delhi bagged its second win at home beating UP Yoddha 36-27.

Naveen Kumar reached his seventh 'Super 10' on the trot at the Thyagaraj Complex in New Delhi on Sunday.

Rohit Kumar was the star for defending champion Bengaluru Bulls as it beat league topper Jaipur Pink Panthers 41-30 in front of a packed audience at the Thyagaraj Complex in New Delhi on Sunday.

Both the teams were looking to bounce back after their respective losses yesterday in the Delhi leg but it was Bengaluru Bulls which emerged the winner.

Bengaluru Bulls with a penchant to raid and Jaipur Pink with a reputation to defend put up a stunning contest. As it turned out, Rohit Kumar led by example to propel Bulls into a formidable position. The Bulls was well-served in the defence by Mahender Singh and Saurabh Nandal.

Rohit, with 13 raid points from this encounter, crossed the 50-raid points mark for the season even as Mahender Singh, Saurabh Nandal and Mohit Sehrawat earned High 5s (tackle points). Ajinkya Pawar of Panthers registered 200 raids in PKL.

As it happened

When the match started it was a neck to neck performance by both the teams. Deepak Narwal earned the first point for Pink Panthers with a successful raid by taking out Mohit Sehrawat. After 3-3 a successful Raid by Rohit Kumar set the momentum for the team winning 4 straight points and the side finished the first half with 22-8.

Pawan Kumar Sehrawat of Bulls registered 100 successful raids this season as the defending champion continued to dominate. Bulls started the second half with the same strategy and intensity to attack. As Rohit summed up, “This win has set the momentum for our home leg matches and boosted our confidence as a team.”

Delhi clinches second win at home

Dabang Delhi, in the second match of the evening, managed to put the "home leg terror" stories to rest with a 36-27 win over UP Yoddha.

UP Yoddha, which started off with a three-point lead in the beginning, started losing its footing gradually midway in the first half, after the game was tied at 6-6.

At half-time, Delhi led with scores of 15-11, the host's defence being on its toes throughout, not allowing U.P any space to extends its early lead.

Naveen Kumar continued his slow but steady ascent in the second half, to reach 'Super 10', his seventh this season on the trot. The previous season's 'New Young Player' (NYP), put up his best performance in PKL history and also managed to register 100 raid points this season, to completely decimate a clueless opposition.