PKL-12: Big win for U Mumba in memorable match for Bengal captain Devank
In the 75th match of the 12th season of the Pro Kabaddi League (PKL) played at Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium on Friday, Bengal Warriors captain Devank Dalal achieved two records. First, he became the fastest player to reach 500 raid points in PKL history, and second, he completed 200 points in this season faster than anyone else. But these milestones meant little to him as his team lost to U Mumba by a margin of 48-29.
Devank scored a total of 14 points in this match but was caught 7 times. For Bengal, Manjeet earned four points in defense. On the other hand, Ajit Chauhan scored 12 points for Mumba and Sandeep scored 13, while captain Sunil contributed seven defensive points. This was Mumba’s seventh win in 13 matches, whereas Bengal suffered their eighth loss in 12 matches.
On his very first raid, Devank earned two points to become the fastest to 500 raid points in PKL. The score was tied at 4-4 in the opening five minutes, with the match revolving mainly around Devank and Ajit. For Bengal, only Devank was scoring, while Sandeep also began contributing for Mumba. Then Mumba’s defense caught Devank to take an 8-6 lead. After Devank was sent out, Sandeep scored two consecutive points to make it 10-6.
Bengal then had a super tackle opportunity, and Parvesh caught Himanshu, increasing Mumba’s lead to five points by the 10-minute mark. After the break, Mumba inflicted an all-out to make it 15-7. The lead grew to 10 points, but Devank stopped them from increasing it further. With two successful raids, he completed the fastest 200 tackle points milestone and set up a super tackle for Mumba, who then caught him.
Bengal’s defense opened its account in the 17th minute, but Ajit outwitted them for two quick points in the next raid. In another raid, Ajit scored again, and Sunil caught Devank to extend the halftime lead to 11 points. After the break, Bengal reduced the lead to just one point, but Ajit grabbed a super-10 to restore the 11-point gap. Then Sunil caught Himanshu, putting Bengal in a super tackle situation.
Soon Mumba’s combination tackle brought down Devank. Manjeet did super tackle Sandeep afterward, but Bengal failed to produce another super tackle and could not avoid all-out. Mumba then took a 35-20 lead. After the next break, Sunil caught Devank again, dealing a major blow to Bengal—though Manpreet revived him quickly. Devank scored a few points, but the gap refused to narrow.
While Mumba’s defense kept Devank in check, Bengal’s defense could not stop Sandeep. In the final moments, Mumba pushed Bengal into a super tackle situation, and Nitesh claimed Satish. After being revived, Devank scored a few more points, but by then it was too late. Thus, Bengal suffered yet another heavy defeat.
With this, the PKL-12 caravan will now move to Delhi, where the third phase matches, along with the playoffs and the grand finale, will be played.
