PKL: Vijay and Naveen shine as Delhi makes great comeback against Patna

Vijay (13 points) and Naveen Kumar (11 points) secured ‘Super 10s’ for Delhi, which moved back to the top of the table with the victory. It now has 77 points from 18 fixtures, four more than second-placed Bengal Warriors. Patna languishes in the bottom half of the table with 40 points after 19 duels.

Pirates will have only itself to blame for the loss as it dominated for most part of the contest. Pardeep Narwal (19 points) once again impressed with a ‘Super 10’ for Patna, but a blunder in the defence by the three-time champion allowed Delhi’s Vijay to clinch five points in a single raid.

Courtesy of it, Delhi made a stunning comeback in the last few minutes. Considering the quality of the raiders that were there on offer, both defences took a cautious approach in the early minutes. When they did try, they failed as Pardeep and Naveen matched each other.

Vijay eventually pulled off a stellar block in the 11th minute, sending Pardeep to the bench. Though the lead raider spent quite some time off the mat, Patna kept pace with Delhi, with Hadi Oshtorak marshalling the defence. There was nothing to separate the two teams at the end of the first period as the scores were locked at 13 each.

DD started the second half with a ‘Super Tackle’ on Pardeep, but it was perhaps its only positive move for a period of time. Quick successful raids fetched Pirates an all-out in the 24th minute as Pardeep stream rolled through a hapless Delhi defence. He completed his ‘Super 10’ with a three-point raid in the 28th minute.

PP enforced the second all-out with less than six minutes left on the clock. That helped it hold a six-point cushion. But a five-point raid by Vijay in the 36th minute reduced the deficit to just a solitary point. Delhi clinched the all-important all-out in the penultimate minute and took the lead. The defenders kept their composure at the fag end as DD pulled of a great win.