Dabang Delhi overcame the home team U Mumba 40-34 in a tough battle at the DOME by NSCI in Mumbai to ascend to second on the ladder. A rampaging Ashu Malik (13 points) was the star of the game on a day when U Mumba’s defense was underwhelming and underperforming. Dabang Delhi rode on a blistering first-half performance by Ashu Malik, who grabbed 8 raid points in the first period and was tackled only once by the Mumba defense. They inflicted the first All-Out of the game to take a 13-8 lead.
However, as they succeeded on the raid, so did U Mumba, with both defenses rendered ineffective in the half and limited to a mere 7 points combined. While Dabang Delhi’s raiding was almost a one-man effort, U Mumba spread their 15 raid points among Amir Mohammad Zafar Danesh, Guman Singh, and Jai Bhagwan. By the end of the half, despite trailing by two points they had reduced the Dabang Delhi team to two members on the mat.
Despite some solid raiding under pressure by Dabang Delhi, it didn’t take U Mumba too long in the second half to inflict an All-Out of their own and claw back their hold on the game. There was a one-point difference between the two teams as they went into the final quarter of the game.
Ashu Malik capitalized on a series of Do-or-Die raids to reduce the U Mumba numbers and then almost single-handedly inflicted a second All-Out to take a 36-31 lead with three minutes to play. A series of razor-thin decisions went in favor of a brilliant Dabang Delhi defense in the dying moments of the game as they closed out a hugely important victory.
Meanwhile, Bengaluru Bulls defeated three-time champions Patna Pirates 35-33 in a thriller on Monday night. Surjeet Singh, a veteran defender with eight tackle points, was the game’s MVP, while Patna Pirates captain Neeraj Kumar finished with five.
Bengaluru Bull’s defense commanded by captain Saurabh Nandal and Surjeet, was in excellent form, but the raiders were unable to score. On the other side of the mat, Patna Pirates’ three-man raiding team helped them score the first All-Out in the 14th minute, giving them a 16-8 advantage.
Both teams played neck and neck for most of the game. Surjeet rose to the occasion and produced a brilliant super tackle on Sandeep Kumar to inflict the All-Out. With that, the Bulls opened up a lead and sealed a comeback win.
