A crunch encounter in the Pro Kabaddi League ended in confusion, fiasco as Bengal Warriorz edged past Dabang Delhi, 37-36 in controversial circumstances on Thursday (October 9).
An enticing PKL encounter
ended in massive confusion regarding time as the Bengal Warriors and Dabang Delhi contested a cliffhanger. The Delhi side ended up losing the match by a point amid a series of decision-making conundrums, when both sides pointed out their case to the referees.
It was a matter of one second, which led to a huge debate, multiple discussions, reversal of decisions and then another reversal after another prolonged dialogue.
What Happened in the Dabang Delhi vs Bengal Warriorz PKL 2025 Match?
It was an absolute thriller as Bengal Warriorz matched the steps of Delhi in a valiant manner. After a closes battle, the topsy-turvy encounter entered the final minute. With a minute to go, Bengal Warriorz were leading by four points, but that got swiftly down by two with 32 seconds remaining - exactly when the drama started.
With 32 seconds left on the clock, Bengal Warriorz raider Himanshu Narwal went for a raid. The Dabang Delhi players knew that they would have to somehow stop the Bengal player from crossing the white line. Hence, they were defending a lot higher and in the process, the Bengal radar failed to cross the white line and ended up getting out.
Now, as the maximum raid time is 30 seconds, two extra seconds are supposed to be remaining, which is enough to allow another raid. But as the raid ended, the clock stopped when it went down to zero, thus ending the match effectively. The umpires announced Game Over, amid the vehement protest of the Dabang Delhi bench, coach and players.
The Drama Begins - A series of Decisions and Reversal, and Deja Vu
Amid the protest of the Delhi players, the umpires came and had a discussion with the referee and the timekeeper. As the timekeeper clearly mentioned, there is supposed to be 1 second still remaining on the clock, but as he pressed the clock, it went down to zero. The umpires, after discussion decided to allow another raid.
Now as they mentioned it to the Bengal Warriorz captain Devank Dalal that there is still another second remaining and they will have to defend another way from the Delhi team, the Bengal captain showcased the time as done and rightly so. As the match was deemed over and the decision was made at the first place, they protested the reversal.
Amid this, the umpires had another round of talk where they reversed their recent stance, going back to the original one. This time, the match was officially called as done, albeit to the disgust of Dabang Delhi coach Joginder Narwal, who stormed away and was seen vehemently protesting against the verdict.
Who is Right? Was the Time Truly Over?
Now let's start with the second question. Was the Time Over? No! It was not. There was definitely still not one, but 2 seconds remaining to the clock, as it is supposed to be for the Delhi side.
Now, in terms of the stance, both teams have their rights, and their cases have to be considered.
Bengal Warriorz were rightfully protesting because when the match was called as Over, there has never been another resumption of it in PKL history. On the other hand, Delhi would feel extremely disappointed as they had the rightful two seconds and should have had another raid and a chance to probably tie or win the match.
A Timekeeping Error - That's It
Although it would be harsh, but in this case, the PKL the timekeeping is to blame. There was a human error, which led to this massive confusion. And one striking thing which has been in repeated occurrence this season is the accumulation of extra seconds even after the completion of a raid. The clock has run multiple times this season beyond the time limit, or when it is supposed to stop. In the middle of a match, these things are easily overlooked, but as the two teams were fighting for a win in such a tight clash, the mistake has amplified quite naturally in front of our eyes.
For Bengal, this is a lucky break but an alarming one. A match that was supposed to be in their bag almost slipped away as they barely saved their blushes. For Delhi, they must take it as a blip and an unfortunate incident, which is part and parcel of the beautiful thing named sports.
