PKL 9: Dabang Delhi & Tamil Thalaivas play out enthralling 37-37 tie

HYDERABAD: In a game that turned on its head in the final minutes, Dabang Delhi KC and Tamil Thalaivas played out an enthralling 37-37 tie to split the points. Dabang Delhi KC's talisman Naveen Kumar (15 points) and Tamil Thalaivas star raider Narender (14 points) were the stars of the evening at the Gachibowli Indoor Stadium here on Wednesday.

Delhi started the game off strong, and despite Naveen Kumar's early struggles, had managed to notch up an early lead. In the early exchanges, it was their defence that was working perfectly. And yet, the Tamil Thalaivas soon took control, doing everything just that little better, whether it be raiding or defending. On their end too, the star raider Narender struggled, only for their defence to bail him out.

The variety of raiding options helped the Tamil Thalaivas inflict the first ALL OUT of the evening to take a 13-8 lead. Suddenly, the pressure had been released and Narender took charge, notching up five points in the final seven minutes, as the Tamil Thalaivas went into the break leading 20-15.

Stung after the first period, a much-improved Dabang Delhi KC came out for the second half all guns firing. Even Naveen, who had been contained in the first period, started scoring regular points to draw his team close. With momentum on their side, Dabang Delhi KC started getting more out of every play. A SUPER TACKLE by Ashu Malik on Narender drew them level with 10 minutes to go.

Over the next four minutes though, the Tamil Thalaivas turned the tide, scoring seven unanswered points to inflict a second ALL OUT on Dabang Delhi KC and edged ahead again.

The last five minutes were a treat for the fans, Dabang Delhi KC were reliant on quick raids and the Tamil Thalaivas were intent on eating up time. Delhi got their first ALL OUT of the game in the final thirty seconds to draw level at 36-36. The last moments saw the two trade blows, but had to be content with sharing the spoils.