Chennai, Dec 27 (PTI) Dabang Delhi and defending champions Jaipur Pink Panthers played out a nail-biting 32-32 draw in a Pro Kabaddi League Season 10 match here on Wednesday.
Ashu Malik was the star for Dabang Delhi with seven raid points.
Dabang Delhi dominated the proceedings and it took them only eight minutes to inflict the first ALL OUT. The defence collectively pounced on Ajith Kumar and the side soared to a 10-4 lead.
Delhi continued their dominance and got a second ALL OUT in the 17th minute to lead 20-10.
The Pink Panthers’ star raider Arjun Deshwal could not manage a single touchpoint in the first half, while Dabang Delhi defenders enjoyed a 100 per cent tackle rate and led 23-11 at the break.
Ashu took over the raiding responsibilities in injured Naveen’s absence and did well on his part, but Pink Panthers upped the tempo in the second half.
Arjun picked up a handful of bonus points, while Ankush showcased one of the best defensive performances of the season.
Operating from the left corner, Ankush brought the Pink Panthers within six points of the Delhi side when he executed a perfect tackle on Manjeet.
That tackle saw him complete a High 5 and the scoreline read 26-20 in Delhi’s favour with 10 minutes to go.
Arjun saved his best for the final few minutes as he got multiple raid points before deploying a superb ankle hold on Vishal Bhardwaj to inflict an ALL OUT.
With little over five minutes left, the Pink Panthers trailed by three points at 29-26.
Arjun then got a touch on Manjeet a minute later to level the scores at 29-29 and the Pink Panthers made a remarkable comeback to erase a 13-point deficit.
It appeared like Delhi would sneak away with a narrow win, but an error from Vikrant, who stepped out of bounds before making a tackle, in the dying stages of the game saw the Panthers get a point and level the scores.