Dabang Delhi, on top of its attacking game in the first half, led 20-9 against Gujarat Fortunegiants at one stage, before getting rattled by a fightback from its rival at the Balewadi indoor stadium on Sunday.
The early poise was replaced by pressure, culminating in a close 34-30 win for Dabang and a secure position atop the table. The Delhi side’s 12th win in 15 matches took it closer to the playoffs.
As it happened| PKL 2019
Fortunegiants suffered two 'All-outs' and looked like getting blown away by the in-form Dabang team. However, it came charged up after the breather, stretching the opponent all the way.
Rohit Gulia top-scored with 13 raid points, but his effort went in vain. Naveen Kumar, who finished on the winning side, had his 13th consecutive Super 10 display and crossed 350 raid points along the way. He contributed 12 points.
On the go
The contest started with feisty raiders Naveen and Sachin on the prowl. The former sneaked in and away from the defence while the latter reacted well when the defenders tried to trap him.
Both got out once before Naveen made a mark with a 'Super-raid', eluding three rivals. In the process, he inflicted the first 'All-out' early on in the contest to make it 11-4 for Dabang. Sachin could not repeat the form shown against Puneri Paltan the evening before and it had a bearing on the final outcome.
Joginder, defending on the left side, proved effective in earning tackle points in a bunch for Delhi on an evening when Naveen led the raiders in catching the attention.
Patna humbles Pune
Patna Pirates registered its third consecutive victory after racing to a 53-33 win over host Puneri Paltan in the second match of the day.
Pune racked up a 7-3 lead, courtesy a 'Super-raid' by Pankaj Mohite and looked comfortable from the outset. However, the tide turned towards Patna once Pardeep Narwal found his rhythm.
He helped his side inflict the first 'All-out' on Pune and completed his 'Super-10' in the first half at the 21-15 mark. Neeraj Kumar also brought up his 'High-5' and adequate support from Jang Kun Lee's raiding exploits meant Pune was bundled out once again at the stroke of half time.
The second half saw Hadi Oshtorak chip in with an all-round show for Patna. He was able to keep a resurgent Pune quiet in the final 20. Surjeet Singh racked up successive tackle points off Pardeep Narwal and Nitin Tomar played second fiddle to the Mohite-Manjeet raiding partnership.
However, a third 'All-out' by Patna proved to be the final nail the coffin. Neeraj finished with 11 tackle points and equalled Manjeet Chhillar's record of most tackle points in a single match in PKL history.
Patna effected a fourth 'All-out' to eventually draw curtains on the game.
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