PKL: Dabang Delhi reach playoffs, Patna Pirates move closer to playoff berth

Dabang Delhi sealed their place in the PKL 11 playoffs in emphatic fashion as they beat Bengal Warriorz 47-25 at the Badminton Hall in Balewadi Sports Complex in Pune on Monday.

Another brilliant performance led by their star raider Ashu Malik’s 17 points secured a big win for Joginder Narwal’s side as they became the second team to seal their place in the top six.

In doing so, Dabang Delhi became the first team to reach the playoffs in six consecutive seasons while also equalling the record for the longest unbeaten streak in a single PKL season, having gone 13 matches without a loss.

The Bengal Warriorz, led by Sultan Fazel Atrachali, performed well in tackling the star raiders of Dabang Delhi.

However, this did not deter Ashu Malik, who was at his usual best once again. He capitalised on a mistake from Nitesh Kumar to begin his scoring, and then earned a Bonus and a touch point on two separate occasions to give his team the early advantage.

Nevertheless, Siddhesh Tatkare sent the raider out with a decisive dash. Naveen Kumar also entered the scoreboard with a successful raid on Mayur Kadam, but Fazel demonstrated his experience with a dash that got him back into the match.

In a do-or-die raid, Ashu Malik showcased why he was the best raider on the court with a Super Raid that eliminated all but one of the Bengal Warriorz's players. Mayur Kadam, Pranay Rane, Nitesh Kumar, and Fazel Atrachali found themselves off the mat.

Aditya Shinde was tackled by Yogesh in the very next move, inflicting the first all-out of the match on the Bengal Warriorz. This marked the beginning of a comprehensive defeat as Ashu Malik went on to complete his Super 10 within just 16 minutes of the clash.

As the first half drew to a close, Dabang Delhi ran through the Bengal Warriorz, with the score reading 26-9 at the end of the first half.

The second half commenced with a second ALL OUT on the Bengal Warriorz as the template of the match remained the same. But in a rare point for the Bengal Warriorz, Nitesh Kumar tackled Ashu Malik, giving his team a glimmer of hope.

But it was not to be as the Dabang Delhi ran away with the victory. While Ashu dominated the raiding unit, the defence was led ably by Yogesh, who completed his High 5 with a tackle on Pranay Rane in a Do-Or-Die Raid. They finished the match with a huge difference of 22 points over the Bengal Warriorz, who were eliminated from the playoffs race.

Patna Pirates win exciting contest against Puneri Paltan

The Puneri Paltan and the Patna Pirates played out an absolute thriller in the second match of the evening.

The Patna Pirates won 37-32 with Devank getting 11 points, Ayan adding 9, and Shubham Shinde registering a High-5. For the Puneri Paltan, who put in superb fight on the day, Abinesh Nadarajan scored 7 points and Aman registered a High-5 too.

Both sides started off with 2 tackle points each in the early exchanges, which meant Patna Pirates’ raiders Devank and Ayan were having a tough start to the game.

Pankaj Mohite scored the first raid point of the game in fifth minute, which gave the Puneri Paltan a slender.

Abinesh Nadarajan, Aman, and Sanket were holding fort in defence for the Puneri Paltan, as they made life very difficult for the Patna Pirates’ raiders.

Midway through the first half though, both sides were on level terms, with the Patna Pirates starting to make their presence felt.

Ayan was leading the charge for the Patna Pirates, but the Puneri Paltan’s Akash Shinde and Pankaj Mohite were ensuring that the opposition would stay within touching distance.

With about five minutes to go, Abinesh Nadarajan then put in a Super Tackle on Devank and the defending champions once again got their noses out in front. The first half ended with the Puneri Paltan leading 16-13.

The Patna Pirates started off the second half with an ALL OUT on the Puneri Paltan. And right after Devank wiped out the deficit, and both sides were back on level terms.

The three-time champions had started off the second half quite strongly and Devank was looking menacing. Close to the half-hour mark, Aman registered his High-5 for the Puneri Paltan, but Devank then landed an ALL OUT as the Patna Pirates picked up 5-point lead.

In the final phase of play, the Puneri Paltan tried their best to mount a comeback but the Patna Pirates were just about keeping them at bay. With five minutes to go, the deficit was down to 3 points. Eventually, the Patna Pirates managed to close the door on the comeback, and clinched the contest in the final couple of minutes.