Mumbai: Ashu Malik went on the rampage as he scored 13 points, helping Dabang Delhi KC beat the home team U Mumba 40-34 in a tense encounter at the DOME by NSCI in Mumbai to rise to second position on the table.
U Mumba’s defence was underwhelming and underperforming as Dabang Delhi KC rode on a blistering first-half performance by Ashu Malik, who grabbed eight raid points in the first period and was tackled only once by the Mumba defence. They inflicted the first All-Out of the game to take a 13-8 lead.
But as they succeeded on the raid, so did U Mumba, with both defences rendered ineffective in the half and restricted to a mere seven points.
While Delhi Dabang KC’s raiding was almost a one-man effort, U Mumba spread their 15 raid points among Amirmohammad Zafardanesh, Guman Singh and Jai Bhagwan. By the end of the half, despite trailing by two points they had reduced the Delhi Dabang KC team to two members on the mat.
Despite some solid raiding under pressure by Delhi Dabang KC, 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 capitalised 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 favour of a brilliant Delhi Dabang KC’s defence in the dying moments of the game as they closed out a hugely important victory.
–IANS