In a completely one-sided affair, UP Yoddhas thrashed Dabang Delhi 45-33 in the third eliminator of Pro Kabaddi League (PKL) season six at the Rajiv Gandhi indoor stadium here on Monday.
Yoddhas' star raider Prashant Kumar Rai collected 13 raid points while skipper Rishank Devadiga also chipped in with eight raid points to help his side emerge victorious in a do-or-die contest.
For Dabang Delhi, it was a disappointing night as their defence couldn't muster enough points. Naveen Kumar top scored for Delhi with 10 points but couldn't save his team from crashing out of the competition.
Yoddha will now play Gujarat Fortunegiants in the second qualifier in Mumbai to determine who will play Bengaluru Bulls in the final.
Yoddha got off to a flying start with Prashanta's super raid in the second minute. Delhi were reeling under the shock as they suffered an all out as early as in the third minute.
Yoddha led 11-1 after three minutes and it looked like Delhi won't recover from the early onslaught.
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Chandran Ranjit made a two-point raid in the seventh minute as Delhi trailed 6-13 but Yoddha enjoyed the upper hand as after 10 minutes they led 17-8.
In the 14th minute UP Yoddha further asserted their supremacy as they inflicted another all out to lead 25-10.
At the end of the first-half, Yoddha led 27-13 and it looked like game over for their opponents.
Delhi tried to make a comeback in the second-half and inflicted an all out in the 24th minute to trail 21-31. But Prashant extinguished all their hopes of a comeback with a super raid in the 27th minute as UP Yoddha led 36-22.
Another all out was inflicted in the second half as Yoddha were in complete command of the match.
The last few minutes were all about Dabang Delhi bringing some respectability to the score line. Naveen got a super 10 for the losing side but his effort went in vain as Delhi crashed out of the tournament.
--IANS
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