Jaipur, February 20: Puneri Paltan ably led by their captain Manjeet Chhillar scored an important 32-22 win over Dabang Delhi K.C. which pushed them up to the fourth place in the league ladder of the Season 3 Star Sports Pro Kabaddi. The winners needing a win to enhance their chances were in business right from the word go and the 16-7 lead at the break was testimony to that.

Manjeet Chhillar being grabbed by the ankle by rival Anil Kumar

Puneri Paltan now have 27 points with three wins and an equal number of draws and losses. For Dabang Delhi their woes continue as this was their eighth loss in nine matches.

An all-out inflicted in the 20th minute put the winners in a commanding position. They were aided by Deepak Niwas Hooda with three raid points on a night where he ended with six points that had two tackle points. Surendra Singh and Tushar Patil contributed two each and Jasmer Gulia came up with four crucial tackles to give a decisive turn to the tie in the first session.

For Dabang Delhi K.C. the trend looked depressing as has been the case throughout this season. Their star raider Kashiling Adake, who was to be off court for about 20 minutes in the match was able to open his account only in the 10th minute. Surjeet Singh failed to open his account in the first half. With the two lead raiders failing, the losing team were in troubled waters.

Dabang Delhi K.C. did put up a fight after resumption and narrowed down the gap to 23-17 in the 33rd minute. Some splendid tackles by Sandeep Dhull who had six in all and a super tackle by skipper Ravinder Pahal raised visions of a fightback. But Manjeet Chhillar marshalled his resources well and also led the attack to waste valuable time with empty raids, a strategy well practiced by all teams now.

Surjeet Narwal, the stocky defender from Puneri Paltan was an able foil for Manjeet Chhillar in defense. His blocks and holds on Kashiling Adake and Selvamani K, three in all in the second half helped his team to widen the gap to 24-18 by the 36th minute. It was a good cushion to hold on for a comfortable win as the Dabang Delhi K.C. side in their attempt to get back threw caution to the winds and Manjeet Chhillar sensing that, guided his flock over the line comfortably. Manjeet Chhillar ended with five points, Jasmer Gulia had six tackle points and Surjeet Narwal had four which demonstrated the team effort put in by the winners. The win now gives them the impetus required to take on the hosts Jaipur Pink Panthers on the morrow.

Tags: Dabang Delhi K.C., Kabaddi, Pro Kabaddi, Puneri Paltan, Star Sports, Star Sports Pro Kabaddi