PKL 2022: Reigning champions Dabang Delhi crush U Mumba in season opener

Bengaluru, October 7: Dabang Delhi begin their title defence with a crushing 41-27 win over U Mumba in the Pro Kabaddi League (PKL) 2022 season opener on Friday (October 7) at the Shree Kanteerava Indoor Stadium in Bengaluru.

For Delhi, star raider and captain Naveen Kumar continued his form with a Super 10, while Ashu Malik supported well with 7 points. In defence, the trio of Sandeep Dhull, Krishan and Vishal scored 4 tackle points each.

For U Mumba, raiding duo Ashish and Guman Singh scored 7 and 4 points respectively, while Rinku was the lone defender to register 3 tackle points as Surinder Singh, Harendra Kumar and Mohit faltered in their tackle attempts.

PKL 2022 Points Table | Results | Fixtures

Dabang Delhi KC earned the momentum as Naveen Kumar pulled off a flurry of fantastic raids as he racked up 13 points for his team. He was backed up brilliantly by defenders Vishal and Sandeep Dhull as Delhi inflicted an ALL OUT to take a massive lead at 11-9 in the 9th minute.

Naveen continued to step on the pedal to help Delhi widen the lead at 14-5. The Dabang Delhi KC
defense unit led by Krishan kept tackling U Mumba raiders as Delhi led at 19-10 at half-time.

U Mumba showed a bit more urgency in the second half with Ashish picking up some crucial raid points and Kiran Magar pulling off a couple of brilliant tackles, but the Naveen Express kept raging on and kept Delhi in the lead at 28-20 in the 31st minute.

With only three U Mumba members on the mat, Naveen effected a multi-point raid and recorded his first Super 10 of the season. Moments later, Delhi inflicted another ALL OUT and led comfortably at 33-21.

Delhi sealed the fate of the match when they attained a massive 12-point lead in the 40th minute. Naveen continued to pick up raid points as Dabang Delhi KC eventually walked off the mat as winners.