Mumbai: A closely fought game between the two teams produced the first tie of Star Sports Pro Kabaddi season 4. In a cliffhanger of a game, Dabang Delhi KC and Puneri Paltan produced the first tie of the fourth season of Star Sports Pro Kabaddi. In a see saw of a game which saw both sides exchange leads several times, it was Manjeet Chhillar who had an extremely quiet game in defence but came up with a crucial tackle in the last minute to tie the game.
It was a relief for Puneri Paltan as they were staring at their second successive defeat. Dabang Delhi KC would be disappointed as they squandered a great opportunity to record their first win of the season. Puneri Paltan remains at top of the league with 14 points while Dabang Delhi KC occupies the sixth place with three points in their tally.
Puneri Paltan began extremely slowly and they trailed 0-5. But they got their act together and made a comeback when Sonu Narwal scored a raid point. Puneri Paltan got their defensive act together to inflict an all out in the 12th minute to edge two points ahead. They extended their lead by four points with seven minutes left in the first half.
Chhillar had two raid points and zero defence points in the first half. With less than five minutes to go, Dabang Delhi KC forced a super tackle to cut the deficit to four points. Dabang Delhi’s Selvamani came on for Sachin Shingade and immediately made an impact by scoring three raid points. Kashiling Adake had two points whereas Meraj Sheykh couldn’t score a single point in the first half. Puneri Paltan led 14-10 at the end of the first half.
Selvamani scored another raid point at the start of the second half as Dabang Delhi KC began mounting their comeback. Puneri Paltan had several chances for a super tackle in the initial moments but failed to capitalize on it. Meraj Sheykh finally opened his account in the fifth minute of the second half with a quick raid point and followed it with a do-or-die raid as Dabang Delhi trailed by two points. Adake struggled in the second half offensively as he scored two points from 14 raids.
Delhi leveled the score at 18-18, however, with an all-out looming Chhillar scored two points to restore Puneri Paltan’s lead to two points. Dabang Delhi inflicted an all out with less than eight minutes to go and led 22-20. As both teams looked to close in on a victory, Puneri Paltan scored three points with a raid and tackle to lead 23-33 in the 14th minute of the second half.
Puneri Paltan made a defensive error at a crucial time as Deepak Narwal made a super raid to get three points as Dabang Delhi crept back into the lead 26-25. Sachin Shingade had a five tackle points. Chhillar, however, chose the last two minutes to make a critical impact as he scored with a raid and a tackle point as the match tied at a 27-27 score line.
Final Score Line
Puneri Paltan – Dabang Delhi KC
27 – 27
Best raider of the match – Deepak Hooda (Puneri Paltan)
Best defender of the match – Sachin Shingade (Dabang Delhi KC)
TVS Type moment of the match – Deepak Narwal (Dabang Delhi KC)
The Gionee Marathon Man of the MAT, for maximum time on court if the fully charged – Meraj Sheykh (Dabang Delhi KC)
