Pro Kabaddi League: Dabang Delhi KC enter play-offs after a draw against Bengal Warriors
Dabang Delhi KC led by Naveen Kumar, put up an excellent second-half performance to earn a 46-46 draw against Bengal Warriors that secured their qualification for the play-offs
Dabangg Delhi hold Bengal Warriors in the last minuteDelhi needed a win or a draw to keep the game exciting until the very end before they strategically secured an interest in the final match of the evening to knock out Gujarat Giants at Gachibowli Indoor Stadium.
The high-octane clash pitted two of the best Raiders in the league this year against each other, and in the early stages, Bengal Warriors were the more dominant side.
While Dabang Delhi KC relied on bonus points, the Bengal Warriors made every attack more valuable by scoring touchpoints. By the end of the first half, they had fought off two all-outs to Dabang Delhi KC for a 25-19 lead.
Dabang Delhi KC stormed back in the second half with their defenders Dipak, Vishal, and Amit Hooda suddenly supporting Naveen's brilliant attacks and dominating the mat and bringing Dabang Delhi KC back into the game.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="in" dir="ltr">Playoffs ki taraf udaan bharte huye <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/NaveenExpress?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#NaveenExpress</a> hai aapke <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/PlayerOfTheMatch?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#PlayerOfTheMatch</a> 😍<a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/DabangDelhi?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#DabangDelhi</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/HarDumDabang?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#HarDumDabang</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/BENvDEL?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#BENvDEL</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/vivoProKabaddi?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#vivoProKabaddi</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/FantasticPanga?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#FantasticPanga</a> <a href="https://t.co/iWNicX9pI8">pic.twitter.com/iWNicX9pI8</a></p>— Dabang Delhi KC (@DabangDelhiKC) <a href="https://twitter.com/DabangDelhiKC/status/1601148429174190080?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">December 9, 2022</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
They scored an all-out in the last five minutes of the match to level the score at 38-38, and within minutes they scored another all-out to take a 43-40 lead, an incredible turnaround with two minutes to go.
But the Bengal Warriors still needed to be finished. Maninder stormed back with a super raid, taking out Sandeep Dhull, Vishal, and Dipak to tie the game again.
The final thirty seconds were a frenzy, with the pressure of play-off qualification on the line for Dabang Delhi KC and points exchanged at both ends of the mat. With 15 seconds remaining, Dabang Delhi KC led by just a single point, a win and a draw were enough to qualify.
In the last fight of the evening, Maninder came back with only one point and ended the match with a draw.