PKL-12: Patna Pirates Halt Dabang Delhi KC’s Winning Streak by Catching Neeraj on the Final Raid

Dabang Delhi KC’s six-match winning streak finally came to an end. In the 43rd match of Season 12 of the Pro Kabaddi League, played at the Sawai Mansingh Indoor Stadium on Saturday, three-time champions Patna Pirates clinched victory 33-30 by catching Neeraj Narwal on the final raid. Delhi suffered their first defeat, while Patna registered their second win in seven matches.

At one stage, Patna was trailing by 12 points, but Ankit (12 points) played a crucial role in their comeback. He not only brought Patna back into the game but also leveled the scores. For Delhi, Ashu Malik scored 6 points, while Neeraj Narwal picked up 8 points. For Patna, captain Ankit earned 6 points in defense.

Delhi started well, taking a 4-1 lead within the first three minutes. However, Sudhakar dismissed Fazel to reduce the gap to two. Then Ankit caught Ajinkya to make it 3-4. Sourav tackled Milan, and Ayan dismissed Neeraj in defense to push the score to 4-6. Meanwhile, Delhi caught Ayan, and then Ajinkya scored on a do-or-die raid to take the score to 8-4 by the 10th minute.

After the break, Sudhakar earned a point, but Neeraj added two for Delhi. Although Sandeep and Surjeet caught Sudhakar on the next raid, Ankit tackled Ajinkya to make it 6-11. Surjeet then single-handedly dismissed Milan to double Delhi’s lead again. Ashu picked up two more points, reducing Patna to just two players.

On the next raid, Neeraj revived them, but soon he pushed Patna toward an all-out. Just before halftime, Surjeet completed the all-out, giving Delhi a 19-10 lead. After the break, Delhi added two more points to strengthen their grip. Sourav then dismissed Ayan to make it 22-11.

Ankit responded with a do-or-die raid, catching Sourav, while Ajinkya dismissed Milan to balance the scoreline. Delhi’s defense was not letting Ayan settle, but their defenders started leaking points. Navdeep dismissed Ajinkya. Earlier, Ankit had taken out Neeraj, and on the next two raids, he also dismissed Surjeet and Fazel to make it 16-25. The defense then caught Neeraj, putting Delhi in a super tackle situation. On a do-or-die raid, Ankit caught Sandeep and pushed Delhi towards an all-out.

On the very next raid, Ankit picked up two points, completing the all-out and reducing the margin to 22-26. After the all-out, Ashu dismissed Navdeep. Ankit picked up a bonus, but Ashu then scored two points to make it 29-23. Ankit added another bonus before Patna’s defense caught Ajinkya, reducing the gap to 5. Ankit then dismissed Sourav, completing his Super-10, though he was caught on the next raid.

Ayan then picked up a point to reduce the deficit to 3. Patna’s defense caught Ashu to bring it down to 2, and Ankit further cut it to 1. On Delhi’s final raid, Neeraj crossed the baulk line, but Ankit took a point to tie the score. With one second left, Neeraj went in as Delhi’s last raider but was caught. That sealed the match, and Patna ended Delhi’s winning streak.

Brain Fade Moment from Delhi especially from Neeraj Narwal costed game for them and ultimately Patna applied their tactics really well to emerge as the winner