PKL 2024: Talismanic Ashu Malik Helps Dabang Delhi KC See Off U Mumba

Ashu Malik inspired Dabang Delhi KC kicked off their PKL Season 11 campaign with a fantastic performance, seeing off U Mumba by scoreline of 36-28 at the Gachibowli Indoor Stadium in Hyderabad on Friday (October 18).

On a day when star raider Naveen Kumar stuggled to get on the scorecard often, up stepped joint captain Ashu Malik with a Super10 to help Dabang Delhi take the top spot in the Pro Kabaddi League 2024 points table on the opening day.

Ashu Malik helped Dabang Delhi see off U Mumba challenge in PKL Season 11 Image Courtesy Pro Kabaddi — Ashu Malik helped Dabang Delhi see off U Mumba challenge in PKL Season 11 (Image Courtesy: Pro Kabaddi)

From the get-go, Dabang Delhi and U Mumba were engaged in a close battle, with neither team able to pull away into an early lead. Ashu Malik was leading the charge for Dabang Delhi while Ajit Chavan was scoring the most points for the U Mumba side in the early exchanges.

A short while later Ashu Malik inflicted an ALL-OUT on U Mumba and helped the Dabang Delhi take a 4-point lead midway through the first-half. After that, the Dabang Delhi K.C. team were able to keep the U Mumba side at bay for the rest of the half.

At the half-time break, the Dabang Delhi K.C. side led U Mumba by 4 points. At this point, Ashu Malik had 6 points for the Dabang Delhi K.C. as they led 19-15.

The second half saw the Dabang Delhi K.C. side further consolidate their position in the contest. In the first phase of the second half, Ashu Malik continued to pick up points with relative ease.

But midway through the second half, the U Mumba side threatened to fight back with Ajit Chavan scoring his Super 10. He had immense support in the form of Amirmohammad Zafardanesh.

With 10 minutes to go in the contest, the Dabang Delhi K.C. side had a 6-point lead. U Mumba were not going to give in and they fought hard in the final phase of play. Amirmohammad Zafardanesh was doing it all for his side - raiding and defending, as U Mumba continued to chip away at the deficit.

However, the late charge wasn't enough for U Mumba as Ashu Malik registered his first Super 10 of the season, helping his side walk off with the win in the second game on the opening night. For U Mumba, Amirmohammad Zafardanesh finished with 11 points to his name while Ajit Chavan scored 10 as well.

Source: Media Release