Stand-in skipper Ashu Malik was the star performer as Dabang Delhi extended their unbeaten run to four games as they earned a 35-28 comeback win over Gujarat Giants in a Pro Kabaddi League Season 10 match at the Noida Indoor Stadium here on Tuesday.
Malik finished with a Super 10 for Dabang Delhi while Manjeet grabbed nine raid points in the crucial encounter. Dabang Delhi got off to a strong start as they took a 4-0 lead, but Gujarat Giants worked their way back into the game through a superb multi-point raid from Rakesh H.S.
Much like Rakesh, Parteek Dahiya also produced a 2-point raid soon after, which caused plenty of trouble for Dabang Delhi as they were reduced to 1 defender. The inevitable occurred soon after as Dabang Delhi, playing without their captain Naveen Kumar, were on the receiving end of an All-Out and Gujarat Giants led 11-9.
Fazel Atrachali, captain of the Gujarat Giants, achieved a massive milestone as he trapped Ashu in one of his trademark ankle holds and went on to reach the 450-tackle points milestone. The Iranian defender’s team went into the interval leading 16-14.
Manjeet, Dabang Delhi’s second raider of the game, got his side off to a fiery start in the second half and then Ashu took over the reins. Malik, captaining Dabang Delhi in Naveen’s absence, outwitted 4 defenders in 2 raids, including Atrachali, to put the Gujarat Giants in a spot of bother. Malik was in the thick of things again as he then executed a tackle on Sonu Jaglan to put his team ahead. The All-Out followed soon after and Dabang Delhi cruised to a 4-point lead at 28-24.
Both sides traded blows in the final 5 minutes, but Dabang Delhi’s lead proved to be too steep for Gujarat Giants to catch up to. Malik got the better of Fazel yet again off his final raid and completed his Super 10 as Dabang Delhi sealed a hard-fought comeback win.