Welcome to the highlights of the opening fixture of the vivo Pro Kabaddi League 2022 between Dabang Delhi and U Mumba at the Shree Kanteerava Stadium in Bengaluru on Friday.
RESULTS OF PRO KABADDI SEASON 9
PKL Action continues with Bengaluru Bulls vs Telugu Titans. Follow here
In the third match of the day, Rahul Chaudhari and Pardeep Narwal go up against each other. Follow here.
Scores read Dabang Delhi vs U Mumba
41-27 Naveen Kumar gets the left corner and almost goes back for the lone U Mumba player left on the mat but the whistle goes off. Comfortable win for Dabang Delhi.
40-27 Super tackle opportunity once more but Naveen evades the diving advance tackle from U Mumba to snuff out a point. That lead now up to 13 points
39-27 Krishan’s anklehold does not allow the U Mumba raider to get anywhere close to the midline
38-27 Combination tackle from Delhi, Sandeep Dhull comes in with the ankle hold and the right side of the defence comes in with a dash to handle this U Mumba raider - Ashish the man brought down
U MUMBA can’t practically win this tie but they’ll hope to reduce that deficit to under 7 points so they can salvage a point from this fixture.
37-27 Another point to U Mumba for Jay Bhagwan as he takes out Vishal
37-26 U Mumba aces their super tackle again. Jay Bhagwan gets involved here too with Kiran Magar preventing any crawling towards the midline
37-24 Delhi’s defence sends out Guman. Very poor opening fixture for him
36-24 Jay Bhagwan gets a bonus for U Mumba. His first ever PKL point. A promising talent from the Khelo India kabaddi scene
36-23 Ashu Malik has managed a two-point raider after being thumped out right next to the midline. For a minute, it looked like Surinder Singh and his boys sorted out the dangling hand but no.
34-23 Ashish is surrounded as Vishal’s missed defensive efforts trips the U Mumba raider and he falls right into the U Mumba defence
TALKING POINT: WHY IS NAVEEN STILL ON THE MAT? The Delhi outfit has a comfortable lead and their hesitation to get Naveen out of the mat to preserve that knee is a little worrying.
33-23 U Mumba raider picks out Sandeep for another touch point
33-22 U Mumba defence steps up yet again as they pull the Delhi raider back into their own half.
33-21 ALL OUT INFLICTED YET AGAIN with under eight minutes to go. U Mumba gets the bonus but is also wiped out.
30-20NAVEEN GETS HIS SUPER 10. His 43rd super 10 in the PKL but he has injured that knee again as he curls up in pain on the mat.
Pawan Sehrawat is watching the first game here and we spot him yawning in the audience. The hi-flier will not be featuring in today’s fixtures but must be thinking he can make short work of the opponents he’s seeing thus far.
28-20 Guman Singh comes in but walks back as quickly as the defence thumps him out. U Mumba is shining in patches and is unable to get a rhythm going to its performance.
27-20 BACK TO BACK SUPER TACKLES FOR U MUMBA!! Naveen dragged back and turned.. Has to be the passage of the match for U Mumba
27-18 Sandeep Dhull’s thigh hold brings down the U Mumba raider to sniff out any complacency
26-18 SUPERB SUPER TACKLE here from U Mumba as Harender’s thigh hold gets Naveen as the rest of the U Mumba unit helps keep Naveen away from the midline
26-16 Bonus for U Mumba
26-15 Oof. Ashu evades a diving ankle hold as he flies over the U Mumba huddle to manage two points
SUBSTITUTION: RAHUL SETHPAL COMES IN, SHIVAM ANIL OUT - U Mumba is bolstering its left corner. Fazel’s exit has not been addressed too well here
24-15 Guman, trying to hunt for points, ends up going out of bounds
23-15 Surinder Singh comes in with a big dash to send the Delhi raider off court.
23-14 Bonus point for U Mumba
23-13 Ashish Narwal gets his first point to aggravate U Mumba a bit more and keep that lead up
22-13 Vishal gifts a point to the U Mumba raider as a slippery ankle hold doesn’t stick
22-12 Guman desperately tries to get a hold on Naveen but Naveen gets away. Naveen inching closer to a super 10
21-12 Ashu picks Kiran on the left corner for a quick point. Shoddy first tackle here from Kiran
20-12 Naveen Kumar walks off with a simple bonus point
19-12 Guman picks up Delhi’s #4 to get another point for his side. Better start from U Mumba as they calmly pick out space to pick points from
19-11 U Mumba’s defence sends the Delhi raider out of bounds. Smartly done by Surinder from the right.
We’re back with action in the second half. U Mumba’s order for the rest of the evening is patience. Can they get less frantic around Naveen?
HALF TIME: 19-10 in favour of Dabang Delhi
19-10 Guman comes in and Krishan tries an audacious backhold but is too late to initiate it as Guman manages to get past the midline.
19-9 Ashish’s strategy is confusing as he ends up walking into the defence. Delhi is happy to surround him and bring him down deep into the Delhi half
18-9 Naveen spends some time drawing out the U Mumba defence but walks away with a bonus
17-9 Naveen tempts Mohit and lures him out for a point. The U Mumba youngsters are not able to keep up with Naveen’s willy pace.
16-9 Surinder Singh rallies the defence to bring down the Delhi raider for yet another point.
16-8 Ashish’s dash gives U Mumba a point as Vishal’s advanced tackle costs Delhi
16-7 Shivam is removed as Delhi gets another point
15-7 Rinku butts into Manjeet head on and brings him down to give U Mumba a point
15-6 Guman gets the bonus point but is viciously taken down by Krishan Dhull’s ankle hold as Krishan drags Guman back from the midline before reinforcements pile on the U Mumba raider.
14-5 A quick couple of touch points to U Mumba and Dabang DELHI
13-4 The Delhi raider is tackled as the right corner gets a hold of his ankle with backup coming from Surinder at the other end.
13-3 U Mumba are struggling. Krishan Dhull brings down the U Mumba raider on the right flank
12-3 Ashish is buried in a Delhi pile as he attempts a kick but finds himself stuck in the defence circling around him.
11-3 U Mumba gets a point here with the raider managing a simple touch on Delhi’s #9.
11-2 DABANG DELHI INFLICTS THE FIRST ALL OUT. Three points to Naveen’s men, but that also means, all seven players of U Mumba are back on the mat. Still early to say anything but U Mumba needs to figure out a plan here.
8-2 RAIDER THUMPED DOWN. Sandeep Dhull again with a diving ankle hold and he finds backup with the cover and corners coming in.
7-2 Dabang Delhi running away with the points here as Naveen gets a toe touch on 1 of the three Mumba players left on the mat
6-2 First do-or-die raid of the match and he does not need to rely on the bonus as he runs through the gap in the Mumba formation to take two points. It looks like Naveen landed a kick to the left corner, but misses. However, the U Mumba runs unsurely towards him and gift Naveen two defenders to score off of.
4-2 Guman Singh gets tackled right in front of the midline. A dangling hand tries to inch towards the centre but Sandeep Dhull cleans up the tackle. Back to back defensive points for Delhi
3-2 Dabang Delhi registers its first tackle points and it’s Sandeep Dhull who gets a solid ankle hold on Ashish. The rest of the defense comes in to help. Naveen runs in right after attempting
1-2 U Mumba is keeping its head down and accumulating raid points at the other end. Ashish this time who quickly registers a touch and runs back.
1-1 Naveen Kumar too can play this game as he tempts Mohit, the left corner, to attempt an ankle hold. Easiest of evasions for Naveen
0-1 Guman Singh runs in towards the left corner and manages to evade the defenders closing in to run back to the midline. Nifty.
0-0 U Mumba raids first but will walk away with an empty first raid. The crowd is on it feet as Naveen Kumar comes in for his first raid of PKL 9. He’s got his eyes fixed on getting a bonus but returns empty-handed. You can already see Surinder Singh itching with those advanced tackles. Something to avoid.
7:30PM MATCH BEGINS
Dabang Delhi: Naveen Kumar, Ravi Kumar, Vishal, Manjeet, Ashu Malik, Krishan, Sandeep Dhull
U Mumba: Surinder Singh, Rinku, Guman, Harendra, Shivam, Ashish, Mohit
TALKING POINT: Legendary players-turned-coaches Anup Kumar and Rakesh Kumar, who were at the helm of Puneri Paltan and Haryana Steelers will not feature in the league this season after being released by their respective franchise. Quite surprising how no one picked up these two veterans to be part of their coaching units.
7pm: 30 minutes to go for the first game of the season.
As we wait for action to begin on day 1 of PKL 9, it’s a good time to watch this interview Sportstar did with Naveen Kumar when he burst into the scene as a New Young Player to watch for Dabang Delhi
Defending champions Dabang Delhi K.C. begin their vivo Pro Kabaddi Season 9 with a clash against Season 2 champions U Mumba. Naveen Kumar will once again be Dabang Delhi K.C.’s main raider in the upcoming campaign, while all-rounder Vijay is also expected to support him in attack. Ashu Malik is another player who will be hoping to contribute in attack, whereas the likes of Suraj Panwar, Manjeet and Ashish Narwal will also boost their raiding department. In defence, Dabang Delhi K.C. have plenty of good options like Sandeep Dhull, Amit Hooda and Ravi Kumar combining to provide the team defensive solidity.
Meanwhile, U Mumba will be hoping to make a positive start to the season themselves and will be confident about doing so with their youthful squad. Guman Singh, who became U Mumba’s most expensive buy in vivo Pro Kabaddi history at ₹1.215 crores, will be his team’s main raider this season and a lot is expected from him after he scored 95 raid points in 19 matches in Season 8. He will be aided by Ashish and Shivam and will need his supporting cast in attack to contribute to ease the pressure from his shoulders. On the defensive front, captain Surinder Singh and Rinku will have to shoulder most of the responsibility for U Mumba. The aforementioned duo along with Prince, Rahul, Shivansh Thakur and Harendra Kumar are expected to be the team’s defensive mainstays.
SQUADS
DABANG DELHI
U MUMBA
Where can you watch Dabang Delhi vs U Mumba PKL 9?
Pro Kabaddi Season 9 will be telecast live on the Star Sports Network and Disney+ Hotstar from 7:30 PM onwards on Friday
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