Fortunes have swung tantalisingly in the ProKabaddi season 4 and this particular facet provided a gripping contest when Puneri Paltan locked horns with bottom-placed Dabang Delhi KC at the NSCI dome here on Tuesday.
Fittingly, the match ended in a tie at 27-all with Paltan captain Manjeet Chhillar and Deepak Hooda capturing Delhi’s Iranian raider Meraj Sheykh and earning the vital one point in the closing seconds of a pulsating encounter.
The teams shared six points and Paltan retained its top position with 14 points. With two wins under its belt the Paltan began the match as favourites, but the team led by smart Chhillar came under pressure trailing 0-5 within a few minutes with the likes of Kashiling Adake, Sachin Shingade and Deepak Narwal winning the early big points for Delhi.
But soon Paltan began to dictate terms with Deepak Hooda and Nitin Tomar making their presence felt and Chhillar, captured in the first few minutes and sent out, grabbing two points with his typical aggressive body touch play after returning to action.
Taking the field for the second time in first leg of the league 4 that has been shifted from Pune to Mumbai because of the prime minister’s programmes at the Balewadi sports complex, the Delhi team raised its level of performance and kept Paltan on its toes. And when Coach Sagar Bandekar brought in the wiry K. Selvamani in the 17th minute of the opening session for Shingade, luck appeared to have changed with the Salem-born player winning three successful raid points.
There was no let up from either sides as the second half commenced with Paltan leading 15-13. Both teams struggled to keep the scoreboard ticking and Paltan largely depended on the returns from Chhillar and Hooda. Sonu Narwal too earned three points for the Paltan. Selvamani ended up with four points and thanks to his imposing presence Delhi managed a draw and win its first points.
Fire Birds wins
Fire Birds led by former India captain Mamtha Poojari trounced Ice Divas 25-12 in the Women’s Kabaddi Challenge. Mamtha and Payel Chowdhury logged five points each as their team overpowered the Divas in two sessions played over 15 minutes each.
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