Dabang Delhi KC beat Patna Pirates to become PKL Season 8 champions
Bengaluru, Feb 25: Dabang Delhi K C clinched the VIVO Pro Kabaddi League Season 8 trophy by eking out a close 37-36 win over Patna Pirates in the summit clash here on Friday.
Delhi's star raider Naveen Kumar (13 points) and all-rounder Vijay (14 points) secured Super 10s as they overcame a tough challenge from three-time champions Patna Pirates.
Patna had an uncharacteristically poor night in the defence with the likes of Mohammadreza Shadloui and Sunil committing far too many errors.
The Pirates, however, had a chance to level the scores in the final move of the match, but Naveen evaded the defenders to cross the baulk line and win Delhi their first VIVO PKL trophy.
The match had a high intensity start with both sets of raiders picking up points.
The defences opted for a cautious approach and conceded easy Bonus Points.
Sachin's pace caused troubles in the Delhi defence while the Patna defenders stayed away from tackles on Delhi's Naveen Kumar.
Mohammadreza Shadloui clinched the first successful tackle in the seventh minute and sent Naveen Kumar to the dugout. That helped Patna get a man advantage on the mat and they converted it into an ALL OUT by the 11th minute.
The Pirates opened a four-point lead but Delhi immediately staged a fightback with Sandeep Narwal tackling Sachin successfully.
Delhi matched Patna blow for blow but Sachin's clever raids helped the Pirates evade an ALL OUT.
Both left corners -- Delhi's Joginder Narwal and Patna's Shadloui -- made uncanny errors. It became a cagey affair in the final minutes of the first half with both teams not wanting to make mistakes. The scores were 17-15 at the interval with Patna in the lead.
Both the teams had just two successful tackles each in the first half.
Naveen and Sachin opened the second half with successful raids. But Delhi's experienced defence ensured they inched closer to inflicting an ALL OUT in the early minutes.
But raider Guman Singh clinched a two-point raid in the sixth minute after the break to help Patna, who had their backs against the wall.
Shadloui then backed it up with a tackle on Naveen Kumar. Patna thought they had changed the balance of the match but Delhi's all-rounder Vijay secured a three-point Super Raid to sustain the pressure.
The scores were level at 24-24 with 10 minutes remaining in the final.
Naveen clinched his Super 10 immediately after the first time out.
Delhi continued to dominate the mat and inflicted an ALL OUT with six minutes remaining to open a two-point lead.
Vijay followed it up with a two-point raid for Delhi as they sensed an opportunity to take the match completely away from Patna.
Patna's defence, especially Shadloui, was having an unusually poor night and the team conceded another three-point Super Raid with three minutes left in the match. The all-rounder picked his Super 10 in the process.
Shadloui turned raider in the final minutes to pick up points to make it a one-point match in the last raid of the match. But Naveen kept calm and crossed the baulk line to clinch the match for Dabang Delhi K C.
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Train to Kashmir: 22-bogie train's trial run successful on Katra-Srinagar line
Jammu: A 22-bogie train chugged between Katra and Srinagar railway stations on Sunday, officials said, marking the first successful trial run on the newly completed line to connect Kashmir with the rest of the country via rail.
The train, comprising 18 AC coaches, two luggage carriers and two engines, left the Katra railway station at around 8 am, successfully reaching its destination within four hours under the watchful eyes of the railway authorities, the officials said.
This was the first trial run between Katra and Srinagar, and came within six days after the Commissioner of Railway Safety (Northern Circle) Dinesh Chand Deshwal authorised the opening of the newly constructed Broad Gauge line.
He had given the authorisation for the start of public carriage of goods and passenger traffic in a seven-page letter to the ministry and railway authorities, based on his detailed inspection of the track on January 7 and 8.
The CRS referred to his inspection of the newly constructed BG line between the Katra and Reasi section by a motor trolley and on foot, followed by a speed trial on the entire section from Katra to Banihal.
He had then authorised regular opening of the section for passengers and freight traffic at a maximum permissible speed of 85 Kmph on the main line and 15 Kmph on turnout.
The work on the dream project to link Kashmir by train was started in 1997 and it missed several deadlines given geological, topographical and meteorological challenges.
Out of the total 272 km Udhampur-Srinagar-Baramulla Rail Link (USBRL) project, 209 km was commissioned in phases with the first phase of the 118 km Qazigund-Baramulla section commissioned in October 2009, followed by 18 km Banihal-Qazigund in June 2013, 25 km Udhampur-Katra in July 2014 and 48.1 km long Banihal-Sangaldan stretch in February, last year.
The work on the 46-km Sangaldan-Reasi section was also completed in June last year, leaving a total of 17 km stretch between Reasi and Katra. And this section was finally completed in December 2024 as announced by the Railway minister Ashwini Vaishnaw.
On January 4, a successful trial run of an electric train was successfully conducted on the Katra-Banihal section. The railways has conducted six trials over the past month on various segments of the track, including the two major milestones of the Anji Khad and Chenab bridges.
Katra-Srinagar Rail Link: First 18-Coach Train Completes Trial Run Successfully pic.twitter.com/p68axcUClX
— Daily Excelsior (@DailyExcelsior1) January 19, 2025
