Pro Kabaddi League Final: Dabang Delhi KC beat Patna Pirates to be crowned Season 8 champions

Dabang
Delhi’s
star
raider
Naveen
Kumar
(13
points)
and
all-rounder
Vijay
(14
points)
secured
Super
10s
as
they
overcame
a
tough
challenge
from
three-time
champions
Patna
Pirates.

Patna
had
an
uncharacteristically
poor
night
in
the
defence
with
the
likes
of
Mohammadreza
Shadloui
and
Sunil
committing
far
too
many
errors.
The
Pirates,
however,
had
a
chance
to
level
the
scores
in
the
final
move
of
the
match,
but
Naveen
evaded
the
defenders
to
cross
the
baulk
line
and
win
Delhi
their
first
PKL
trophy.

The
match
had
a
high
intensity
start
with
both
sets
of
raiders
picking
up
points.
The
defences
opted
for
a
cautious
approach
and
conceded
easy
Bonus
Points.
Sachin’s
pace
caused
troubles
in
the
Delhi
defences
while
the
Patna
defenders
stayed
away
from
tackles
on
Delhi’s
Naveen
Kumar.

Mohammadreza
Shadloui
clinched
the
first
successful
tackle
in
the
7th
minute
and
sent
Naveen
Kumar
to
the
dugout.
That
helped
Patna
get
a
man
advantage
on
the
mat
and
they
converted
it
into
an
ALL
OUT
by
the
11th
minute.

The
Pirates
opened
a
4-point
lead
but
Delhi
immediately
staged
a
fightback
with
Sandeep
Narwal
tackling
Sachin
successfully.
Delhi
matched
Patna
blow
for
blow
but
Sachin’s
clever
raids
helped
the
Pirates
evade
an
ALL
OUT.
Both
left
corners
–
Delhi’s
Joginder
Narwal
and
Patna’s
Mohammadreza
Shadloui
–
made
uncanny
errors.

It
became
a
cagey
affair
in
the
final
minutes
of
the
first
half
with
both
teams
not
wanting
to
make
mistakes.
The
scores
were
17-15
at
the
interval
with
Patna
in
the
lead.
Both
teams
had
just
2
successful
tackles
each
in
the
first
half.

Naveen
and
Sachin
opened
the
second
half
with
successful
raids.
But
Delhi’s
experienced
defence
ensured
they
inched
closer
to
inflicting
an
ALL
OUT
in
the
early
minutes.
But
raider
Guman
Singh
clinched
a
2-point
raid
in
the
6th
minute
after
the
break
to
help
Patna
who
had
their
backs
against
the
wall.
Shadloui
then
backed
it
up
with
a
tackle
on
Naveen
Kumar.

Patna
thought
they
had
changed
the
balance
of
the
match
but
Delhi’s
all-rounder
Vijay
secured
a
3-point
Super
Raid
to
sustain
the
pressure.
The
scores
were
level
at
24-24
with
10
minutes
remaining
in
the
final.

Naveen
clinched
his
Super
10
immediately
after
the
first
Time
Out.
Delhi
continued
to
dominate
the
mat
and
inflicted
an
ALL
OUT
with
6
minutes
remaining
to
open
a
2-point
lead.

Vijay
followed
it
up
with
a
2-point
raid
for
Delhi
as
they
sensed
an
opportunity
to
take
the
match
completely
away
from
Patna.
Patna’s
defence,
especially
Shadloui,
was
having
an
unusually
poor
night
and
the
team
conceded
another
3-point
Super
Raid
with
3
minutes
left
in
the
match.
The
all-rounder
picked
his
Super
10
in
the
process.

Shadloui
turned
raider
in
the
final
minutes
to
pick
up
points
to
make
it
a
1-point
match
in
the
last
raid
of
the
match.
But
Naveen
kept
calm
and
crossed
the
baulk
line
to
clinch
the
match
for
Dabang
Delhi
K.C.