PKL 12: Dabang Delhi defenders shine in 33-29 victory over Telugu Titans

Jaipur (Rajasthan) [India], September 17 (ANI): Dabang Delhi KC continued their brilliant run in the PKL Season 12 as they clinched their sixth straight win against Telugu Titans at SMS Indoor Stadium, Jaipur, on Wednesday.
After trailing by five points in the first half, it was Neeraj Narwal who came to the fore with nine points, while he was ably supported by High Fives from Saurabh Nandal and Fazel Atrachali.
The Telugu Titans opened the scoring with a successful raid from Vijay Malik, giving them an early lead. They quickly built on this momentum as Shubham Shinde executed a solid tackle to make it 2-0. The Titans maintained their dominance, with Bharat picking up a raid point and then following it up with a strong tackle to send Ashu Malik to the bench, pushing their lead to 4-0.
Dabang Delhi finally opened their account through a well-timed tackle by Surjeet Singh in a do-or-die raid. Soon after, Manjeet delivered a successful raid, cutting the deficit to 5-2. However, Neeraj Narwal earned a point for his side and revived the Dabang Delhi captain, reducing the gap to 5-3.
After a slow start, Dabang Delhi gradually found its rhythm and closed the deficit further, bringing the score to 5-4 by the time the first time-out was taken in the opening half.
The Telugu Titans resumed the game strongly, collecting a couple of quick points to stretch their advantage. Their defence continued to hold firm, once again stopping Ashu Malik and sending him to the bench, which extended their lead to 8-4 with just over six minutes left in the first half.
The Titans' defensive unit maintained its intensity for the remainder of the half, consistently shutting down Dabang Delhi's raiders. Their solid all-around effort helped them go into halftime with a 14-9 lead, firmly in control of the contest.
Dabang Delhi mounted a strong comeback in the second half, sparked by a brilliant Super Raid from Neeraj Narwal, who looked in terrific touch, earned them three points and cut the deficit to 14-15.
However, Telugu Titans responded quickly with a well-executed Super Tackle, regaining control and extending their lead to 19-14. Dabang Delhi then produced a big turning point by inflicting an ALL OUT, which helped them take the lead for the first time in the match at 20-19 with just over 13 minutes left on the clock. They built on this momentum with a solid tackle to push their advantage to 21-19.
With Fazel Atrachali leading the charge in defence. He pulled off several sharp tackles and completed a well-earned High Five, as the side extended their lead to 27-22 within the first four minutes of the half.
Dabang Delhi appeared to be in complete control for most of the second half, but Telugu Titans kept pushing and managed to close the gap to just three points in the final three minutes of play. However, Delhi's all-round performance ensured they didn't lose their grip on the match.
The Titans stayed in the fight as Shubham Shinde produced a crucial tackle to make it 27-30, followed by a successful raid from Praful Zaware that brought the score to 28-30. With just over 40 seconds left, only two points separated the two sides.
But Akshit stepped up for Dabang Delhi with a decisive Super Raid that pushed their lead to 33-28, effectively sealing the contest. The Titans managed to pick up one more point, but the season 8 winners held on to secure a 33-29 win. (ANI)