PKL 2025: Dabang Delhi beat Bengaluru Bulls; Jaipur Pink Panthers edge past Patna Pirates

Nitin Kumar Dhankar's Super 10 on debut held Jaipur Pink Panthers beat Patna Pirates.

The Bridge Desk

Updated: 3 Sep 2025 5:32 AM GMT

A dominant Dabang Delhi K..C. secured an impressive 41-34 win over Bengaluru Bulls at the Vishwanadh Sports Club in Vizag at the 2025 Pro Kabaddi League on Tuesday.

A late fightback from the Bulls wasn’t enough, as Ashu Malik’s 15 points, Neeraj Narwal’s seven, and strong defensive efforts from Surjeet Singh, Fazel Atrachali and Saurabh Nandal sealed the win for Delhi.

Alireza Mirzaian’s Super 10 was the only highlight for the Bulls.

Dabang Delhi made a dominant start against Bengaluru Bulls, surging to a commanding lead.

Ashu Malik was at the forefront, picking up quick raid points, with the highlight being a brilliant super raid, dismissing Yogesh, Aashish Malik and Ankush Rathee in one swoop, swinging the momentum heavily in Dabang Delhi’s favour.

The Bulls, meanwhile, struggled to find their footing, with only Alireza Mirzaian showing some resistance.

They were dealt a further blow when Surjeet Singh’s strong tackle on Mirzaian inflicted the first all out of the match.

That setback meant the Bulls trailed 13-5 at the 10-minute mark, as they stared at a tough climb back into the contest.

Dabang Delhi carried their early momentum into the latter stages of the first half, maintaining a firm grip into the break with a 21-11 lead over Bengaluru Bulls.

Agent Ashu was unstoppable, constantly testing the Bulls’ defence with sharp raids. He was rewarded with a Super 10 before halftime, while Neeraj Narwal chipped in with crucial raid points.

For the Bulls, Alireza offered some resistance with four raid points, while Aashish’s efforts gave them a brief spark.

However, repeated setbacks – including two dismissals of Sanjay and unsuccessful raids by Akash – kept them on the back foot.

With a 10-point cushion at the break, Dabang Delhi looked firmly in control, leaving Bengaluru with plenty of work to do in the second half.

The season 8 PKL champions tightened their stranglehold on the contest in the third quarter, extending their lead to 34-17 at the 30-minute mark.

Ashu Malik continued to be the star, piling on raid points at will and keeping the Bulls’ defence under constant pressure.

Naveen and Neeraj Narwal also chipped in, while Surjeet Singh and Fazel Atrachali stood tall in defence.

The biggest blow for Bengaluru came midway through the half when Surjeet executed a decisive tackle on Alireza to enforce the second all out, widening Delhi’s advantage.

For Bengaluru, Aashish and Alireza tried to offer resistance with successful raids, but the rest of the unit struggled to make an impact.

Substitutes Ganesha Hanamantagol and Jitender Yadav were introduced in search of answers, yet the Bulls could not stop Delhi’s momentum.

By the end of the third quarter, the defending champions looked firmly in control, 17 points clear, leaving Bengaluru with a lot to play for in the final stretch.

Despite the massive lead, the Bulls did not give up. Starting with a super tackle by Akash Shinde on Ashu Malik, followed by a successful raid by Ganesha that got Naveen and Sandeep, the lead quickly dropped by 13 points.

However, Neeraj Narwal got his team back on track with a successful raid.

As the match came to a close, an impressive super tackle by Jitender Yadav in a do-or-die raid got Ashu Malik.

However, these were small respites for the Bulls, who lost the match by seven points as the score read 41-34 at the end of the 40 minutes despite a late all out for Bengaluru Bulls.

Jaipur Pink Panthers eke out Patna Pirates

Later in the day, in a hard-fought encounter, Jaipur Pink Panthers secured a narrow 39-36 win against the three-time champions Patna Pirates.

Nitin Kumar Dhankar was the star of the show with 13 raid points to his name, while Ali Samadi Choubtarash also scored eight points for Jaipur Pink Panthers on his PKL debut.

Maninder Singh and Sudharkar Maruthamuthu registered 15 and nine raid points, respectively for Patna Pirates.

Maninder Singh opened the scoring before Ronak Singh responded with a tackle. It was Jaipur Pink Panthers who dictated terms in the opening exchanges, but a two-point raid from Sudhakar M kept Patna Pirates on level terms.

Jaipur Pink Panthers started building on their momentum with Nitin Kumar Dhankar making his presence felt on the attacking end.

The likes of Nitin Rawal, Ronak Singh, and Reza Mirbagheri also contributed on defence, opening up a two-point lead with the score at 10-8 after the first ten minutes.

The two-time champions soon extended their lead to five points after a tackle from Reza Mirbagheri helped them inflict an all out on Patna Pirates.

Registering his first point after 14 minutes, Ayan Lohchab, along with support from Maninder Singh, ensured that Patna Pirates showed resilience at the end of the first half.

For all their hard work, Jaipur Pink Panthers held a deserved 21-16 lead at halftime.

Jaipur Pink Panthers picked up from where they left off in the second half, courtesy of Nitin Kumar completing his Super 10.

He was unstoppable on the offensive end and was only dismissed on his 17th raid attempt. However, Patna Pirates remained within striking distance as Maninder Singh registered his Super 10, supported by Ayan Lohchab and Sudhakar.

Ali Samadi showed his lightning pace and skill on the offensive end for the two-time champions as they maintained a six-point lead with under ten minutes remaining in the match.

Maninder Singh cut the lead to four points with a two-point raid, keeping the contest on a knife-edge.

Patna Pirates fought till the end with the troika of Maninder Singh, Ayan Lohchab, and Sudhakar.

However, Nitin Kumar and Ali Samadi ensured that Jaipur Pink Panthers eventually secured a hard-fought 39-36 victory.

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