Welcome to Sportstar's coverage of the Pro Kabaddi League. This is Nihit Sachdeva and I will be taking you through today's PKL 8 match between Puneri Paltan and Dabang Delhi.
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Summary: You will rarely watch two one-sided PKL matches on the same day and today has been one of those days. After Bengal Warriors stunned Jaipur Pink Panthers 41-22 in the first match of the evening, a similar script followed in the second one in which Puneri Paltan had a comfortable 42-25 victory over second-placed Dabang Delhi. The Delhi defense one again failed to show up and the Paltan raiders - Mohit Goyat (nine raid points), Aslam Inamdar (eight raid points) and Nitin Tomar (four raid points) - made sure to capitalise on the same. Even the defense was in complete sync today as Sombir finished with a High Five. The win takes the Paltan from 11th to 10th place on the points table and keeps their play-off hopes alive.
42-25: Final raid of the match and it is Vijay Malik. He takes the bonus. Mohit Goyat, who has already had a great night, wants more points and gets too ambitious while going for the tackle. Bonus and a touch point for Vijay but it does not matter. Puneri Paltan beats Dabang Delhi 42-25!!!
42-23: Mohit Goyat goes in for the raid and takes a touch point off Mohammad Malak on the left corner. Malak knows it and pushes Goyat back to his side of the mat who finishes one short of a Super 10.
41-22: Do-or-die raid, Neeraj Narwal goes in. The Puneri Paltan that has been top notch today gives no easy points. Neeraj tries everything before the defense closes in on him. He goes for the dubki but it doesn't work.
40-22: Do-or-die raid for Aslam Inamdar but he knows where to find a point. Yep, it's off Manjeet from the left corner. He takes it and then runs into the lobbies claiming that he has got it. Manjeet argues that he hasn't. The decision goes in the raider's favour. Delhi has used their review and it is actually a successful one. Aslam has been ruled self-out.
Final strategic time out. Five minutes to go. Anup Kumar's men have been superb on the mat tonight. On the other hand, Krishan Kumar Hooda will have a lot to say to his team post this match.
40-21: Do-or-die raid for Ashu Malik, The Puneri Paltan defense gives him no chance as he waits for a mistake and then eventually runs into a block.
39-21: Mohit Goyat gets a bonus and a touch point courtesy of an attempted ankle hold from Mohammad Malak to stop him from taking the bonus.
37-21: A running hand touch on Sanket Sawant gets Neeraj a point. Three points in a row for Delhi.
37-19: Sandeep Narwal takes down Aslam Inamdar. Lovely work.
First strategic time out. Ten minutes to go. This is as dominant a performance it can be from the Puneri Paltan.
37-18: Neeraj Narwal comes in for the do-or-die raid and it is an unsuccessful one as the Paltan defense keeps up the good work.
36-18: Finally, the Delhi defense shows some courage and it is that man, Sandeep Narwal again who is at the centre of it with a tackle on Mohit Goyat.
36-17: Aslam Inamdar extends the lead with another bonus point.
34-17: ALL OUT!!! Neeraj Narwal, last man standing for Delhi, goes in for the raid, picks up a bonus but post that gets mobbed by the Paltan.
30-16: Neeraj Narwal picks up a bonus.
28-15: Surely was a blip. Vijay goes too deep, actually behind the Paltan defense looking for the long route but ultimately is stopped.
27-15: Another error from the Paltan defense. This time, Sanket Sawant the culprit and Vijay gets a touch point. What happened at half-time?
27-14: Favour returned. Sub Malak goes for the ankle hold on Mohit Goyat but gets no support.
26-14: Ashu Malik puts in a successful raid as Sombir goes in for an audacious solo tackle.
26-13: And it continues. An easy touch point for Aslam off Manjeet.
Dabang Delhi showing why it is the worst defensive set up in the league with just two tackle points in the first half.
HALF-TIME: Puneri Paltan 25-13 Dabang Delhi K.C.
25-12: Not this time, says Abinesh as he puts in the dash and sends Neeraj flying off the mat.
23-12: Sensational dubki from Neeraj Narwal to get his hand across the line despite the Paltan defense being all over him.
23-10: ALL OUT!!! Sub Sushant Sail picks the bonus on offer, tries for a touch, realises he doesn't have it but steps into the lobbies thinking the defense would follow him. Naughty stuff there.
20-9: Sandeep Narwal steps into the lobbies during Aslam's raid and Delhi is down to one man.
18-9: SUPER TACKLE!!! Sandeep Narwal takes down Mohit Goyat with a massive back hold.
18-17: Vijay goes down. Paltan defense showing how it is done.
17-7: Do-or-die raid for Mohit Goyat, he targets Manjeet on the left corner and gets the touch with a stretched hand as no one comes close to stop him.
16-7: And he has a tackle point too now. Amazing dash from Nitin to push Neeraj Narwal off the mat.
15-7: Delhi's defense is a mess at the moment. Nitin Tomar went in for the raid, Vikash went for the ankle hold but got no support. Krishan's momentum took him close to Tomar who got another touch point for free.
13-7: A rare error from the Paltan defense and Vijay evades the block to return with a touch point.
13-6: Aslam gets the bonus. He also gets a touch point of Krishan. The raider has had a decent start tonight.
11-5: ALL OUT!!! Krishan, the only defender on the mat, shook hands with the Paltan raider and allowed the touch.
7-4: Another do or die raid and Mohit Goyat picks another point. This time Ashu went for the ankle hold that wasn't there anyway.
6-4: Out goes Neeraj Narwal. The Paltan defense was on to him in a flash.
5-4: Do-or-die raid for Mohit Goyat and he draws the mistake in the form of a weak ankle hold from Vikash on the left corner.
4-4: Sombir began the ankle hold on Vijay and the support came in time to push the raider off the mat.
3-4: Vijay picks up a bonus.
3-3: Nitin Tomar with an easy toe touch on slow and careless Manjeet Chhillar.
2-3: Vijay goes in for the raid and who does he get a touch off? It's Mohit Goyat!
2-2: Aslam Inamdar ran hard looking for the touch on Vikash on the left corner but unfortunately stepped into the lobbies without a touch.
2-1: Double thigh hold from Sombir to take down the big man. Sandeep Narwal is off the mat.
1-1: First raid for Aslam Inamdar who was looking for the bonus but instead touched the foot of Vijay Malik. Better.
0-1: Sandeep Narwal goes in for the opening raid and wins a bonus.
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TOSS - Puneri Paltan wins the toss. Dabang Delhi K.C. to raid first.
8:30PM: LINE-UPS!!!
Puneri Paltan: Nitin Tomar (c), Mohit Goyat, Aslam Inamdar, Abinesh Nadarajan, Sanket Sawant, Karamvir, Sombir
Dabang Delhi K.C.: Manjeet Chhillar (c), Ashu Malik, Sandeep Narwal, Vikash, Vijay Malik, Krishan Dhull, Neeraj Narwal
8:27PM: Bengal Warriors has absolutely thrashed Jaipur Pink Panthers tonight with a 41-22 win. Warriors' captain Maninder Singh made a mockery of his former team's defense with another Super 10. With this win, Bengal Warriors has climbed up to third on the points table.
8:15PM: Head-to-head record: Matches played - 17, Matches won by Puneri Paltan - 8, Matches won by Dabang Delhi K.C. - 8, Matches tied - 1, Last meeting: Delhi won 41-30
8:10PM: The first match of the evening between Jaipur Pink Panthers and Bengal Warriors is currently on. The Warriors are leading 30-15 going into the last 10 minutes courtesy of another Super 10 from captain and star raider Maninder Singh. You can follow my colleague Lavanya Lakshminarayanan's live coverage here:
8PM: PREVIEW:
In their previous outing, the Puneri Paltan pulled off a surprise 37-35 victory over the Bengaluru Bulls . Youngster Mohit Goyat made an impact on offence and defence, scoring ten raid points and three tackle points. Sombir and Aslam Inamdar contributed five and six points, respectively, while skipper Nitin Tomar finished the game with four. The Paltan managed to keep their hopes of a playoff spot afloat with the win, but they need to win most of their remaining games to be assured a spot in the top six .
Dabang Delhi K.C. succumbed to a 36-33 loss against the Haryana Steelers in its previous outing. Sandeep Narwal had an impactful night for Delhi and finished the game as the team’s top scorer with nine points. In the second half, Neeraj Narwal came off the bench and scored six raid points, putting himself in contention for a start against the Paltan. While Naveen Kumar’s absence has been a factor, Delhi’s raiding unit has performed decently. It’s the defence that has been worrisome. Delhi’s experienced defensive unit couldn’t muster a single tackle point in the first half against the Steelers and finished the game with only four. Delhi’s defence averages only 7.42 tackle points per game, the lowest of any team in the league. Coach Krishan Kumar Hooda will have to fix the defensive woes, or Delhi’s struggles might continue.
7:45PM: The 2022 edition of the Sportstar Aces Awards is back and we are celebrating the marvellous year for Indian Sports that 2021 was. From Neeraj Chopra and the other Olympic and Paralympic medallists to the Indian cricket team, we have a bunch of nominees who need your vote to win! Support your favourite athlete/team here .
7:35PM: Another helpful reminder of the rules. If you need it!
7:30PM: Hello folks! Welcome to our live coverage of the second game of the evening between Puneri Paltan and Dabang Delhi K.C. Before we get to that, here are the results from the last three days -
January 23: Bengaluru Bulls tops standings with win over Telugu Titans; Haryana Steelers beats UP Yoddha in a thriller
January 22: Puneri Paltan, U Mumba post wins; Jaipur Pink Panthers ties with Tamil Thalaivas
January 21: UP Yoddha beats Bengal Warriors, Haryana Steelers upsets Dabang Delhi
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