PKL 7: Naveen guides Delhi to thumping win over U Mumba

The third consecutive victory in the home leg for Delhi helped them consolidate their position at top of the points table.

The Mumbai team began on a better note with Sandeep Narwal and Harendra Kumar starting off with mighty tackles. U Mumba defenders did their best to contain the raiders in a tightly contested first half.

Naveen's 2-point raid and a subsequent tackle on U Mumba raider Athul M.S. helped Delhi inflict an All-Out on U Mumba in the 11th minute. But despite the setback, U Mumba held firm, thanks largely to skipper Fazel Atrachali's dominance over Naveen in Mumbai' left cover. At the end of the first half, U Mumba led 14-11.

Naveen could only secure two points in the first half.

However, the home side started the second half with a bang. Naveen picked up four raid points in the early minutes as a few errors from the Mumbai defence allowed Delhi to force another All-Out on the fifth minute.

Lack of depth in U Mumba's raiding department saw the side struggle to get back in the match despite a series of super tackles from their experienced defenders. High 5s (five tackle points or more) for Ravinder Pahal (8 points) and Joginder Narwal (6 points) ensured that U Mumba raiders got no room to stage a fightback in the closing

stages of the match.

Naveen equalled Pardeep's record of 8 consecutive Super 10s with three minutes left on the clock with a hand touch on Fazel doing the trick for the talented youngster. Delhi inflicted another All-Out in the closing minutes to open up a 15-point gap.

( With inputs from IANS )