PKL-12 (Qualifier 1):
Delhi becomes the first team to reach the final
Dr. Shrikrishna Sharma
New Delhi. Dabang Delhi has reached the final of the 12th season of the Pro Kabaddi League.
In Qualifier 1 of the league, played at the Thyagaraj Indoor Stadium, Delhi defeated Puneri Paltan 6-4 in a tiebreaker to qualify for the final. With this victory, Delhi became the first finalist. When the match remained tied at 34-34 at the end of the regulation time, a tiebreaker was resorted to. This was the third tiebreaker between these two teams this season, in which Delhi has won twice. The game started in such a way that Delhi took two points each from raids and defense, taking a 4-1 lead in just five minutes. Meanwhile, the defense caught Pankaj on a do-or-die raid, but Paltan’s defense caught Ashu. Two Paltan defenders also committed self-out during this period. Both teams earned two points each on this raid, and a super tackle was triggered for Paltan. Paltan’s second super tackle brought the score to 6-7 at the end of the first quarter. After the break, Delhi’s defense caught Aditya and initiated a super tackle for Paltan. Vishal was self-out on Ashu’s raid, reducing Paltan to two players. Ashu then inflicted an all-out in a single raid, giving Delhi a 13-6 lead. After the all-in, Aditya dealt a major blow to Delhi by dismissing Ashu. Pankaj then dismissed Saurav and Fazal, putting Delhi on the back foot with the score at 11-15. Paltan made a spectacular comeback with an all-out.
At halftime, Delhi led 18-17. However, Paltan soon equalized. However, Ashu, with a do-or-die raid, put Delhi ahead again. Meanwhile, Ashu scored a point on the next raid but was injured. Paltan leveled the score at 20-20, but Aditya’s super raid put Delhi in a position for a super tackle. Then, an all-out forced an all-out to take a 28-23 lead at the end of the third quarter. Aditya began the fourth quarter with a multi-pointer. After Gaurav’s self-out, Paltan’s super tackle was activated. Meanwhile, Aditya and Aslam took bonus shots to narrow the gap to five. However, Neeraj dismissed Vishal, reducing Paltan to two players. Meanwhile, both teams scored points on Aslam’s raid, but Delhi then forced an all-out to make the score 33-34. With 1:37 minutes remaining, Delhi caught Aditya on the next raid, equalizing the score and forcing the match into a tiebreaker. Paltan now faces the winner of Eliminator 3 between Telugu Titans and Patna Pirates in Qualifier 2. This means Paltan still has a chance of reaching the final. (Sports Editor)
