A herculean effort from star all-rounder Parteek Dhaiya wasn’t enough as Gujarat Giants went down to defending champions Dabang Delhi K.C. in an action-packed Pro Kabaddi League (PKL) Season 9 match at the Gachibowli Indoor Stadium in Hyderabad on Friday, November 25.
Parteek Dhaiya continued his rich vein of form to amass 20 points including completing 14 successful raids to help the Giants put up a spirited fight against the reigning PKL champions before suffering a 47-50 loss in the first game of the triple-header.
Sonu effected a Super Raid in the opening minutes of the match and helped the Giants inch ahead. Moments later, the Gujarat side inflicted an ALL OUT and took a massive lead at 10-3 in the fifth minute. However, Naveen Kumar and Ashu Malik picked up touch points and kept Delhi in the game at 8-11. Soon after, Naveen effected another raid and reduced the Giants to just two members on the mat. The Delhi side kept raging on and inflicted an ALL OUT in the 12th minute, but the Giants still held the lead at 15-14.
Parteek Dhaiya pulled off a magnificent raid and helped the Gujarat side stay in the lead at 18-16. Dhaiya continued to showcase top form as the Giants kept forging ahead. However, Vijay Malik effected a raid and Sandeep Dhull tackled Parteek Dhaiya as the two sides went into half-time locked at 21-21.
Ashu Malik carried out a fabulous multi-point raid in the opening minutes of the second half as the Delhi side roared into the lead at 25-21. Moments later, the Dabang Delhi K.C. inflicted an ALL OUT to extend their lead further at 30-22 in the 23rd minute. Ashu continued to pick up touch points as the Delhi side earned a massive lead at 35-23. Thereafter, the team from the capital city tackled Dhaiya to carry out another ALL OUT and attained a stronghold of the match at 41-29.
Gujarat's Mahendra Rajput effected a Super Raid, catching out Amit Hooda, Vijay Malik and Vishal, but Delhi still held a comfortable lead at 46-38 in the 36th minute. However, Dhaiya didn't let the Giants lose hope as he picked up a multi-point raid and reduced the Delhi side to just one member on the mat. Moments later, the Giants inflicted an ALL OUT and reduced the gap between the two sides considerably at 43-48. The Giants put up a spirited fight in the final minutes of the match, but the Delhi players held their nerve to close out a narrow victory.
With 35 points from 16 games, the Giants will next square off against Tamil Thalaivas in a must-win game at the Gachibowli Indoor Stadium in Hyderabad on Sunday, November 27.
