Bengaluru Bulls further piled the misery on Gujarat Giants in the 54th match of the Pro Kabaddi League Season 8. The Bulls came roaring in the second half to to pick up a nine-point win over the struggling eleventh-placed team climbing their way to the top of the points table.
This was Bengaluru Bulls’ seventh win of the season from ten matches. Skipper Pawan Sehrwawat led from the front once again as he picked up another ‘Super 10’ scoring 19 points to give his side another victory in the league. The Bulls now have 38 points in the kitty from nine games as they move to the top of the table.
On the other hand, Gujarat Giants continue to struggle at the bottom of the table as their defense was not quite up to the mark as they conceded three all-outs. While Pawan and Bharat were in charge, unforeseen errors from their defense also cost them two extra points. Rakesh Sungroya was the best player for Gujarat tonight with fourteen points as he kept fighting to keep his side in the game but his efforts were not enough to save his side from a nine-point loss eventually.
Bengaluru got the first point of the game with Pawan Kumar getting a bonus point but he was taken off the mat as Gujarat Giants captain Sunil brought out an amazing dash to send the Bengaluru captain out.
The battle was neck to neck till the eleventh minute of the match with the score tied on 10-10. Bharat then got a touchpoint on Rathan which meant that Gujarat was down to two men on the mat and the Bulls then enforced the first all-out of the game to increase their lead steadily.
Bengaluru Bulls defenders trying to stop Rakesh complete a successful raid
However, Gujarat kept scoring points to keep themselves in the match while Bengaluru also kept scoring points from the other end to maintain the lead. Pawan and his men were leading 22-17 by five points going into half-time with the Bengaluru skipper completing his ‘Super 10’ by then to give his side the edge early on.
Pardeep started the second half well for Gujarat by scoring two touchpoints but they were soon down to three men again staring at another all-out. Although, they managed to pin Pawan down inflicting a super-tackle and kept fighting all the way to avoid the all-out.
Rakesh, the most successful raider for Gujarat kept the points coming as they closed in on the deficit taking the score to 25-17 in the 27th minute of the game. However, the Bulls inflicted the second all-out as Saurabh Nandal put in a dive to remove Rakesh extending their lead by four points.
The game continued to remain in the balance with the score reading 32-35 in favor of the Bulls into the 35th minute. Bharat and Pawan continued to bring in the points as the Bulls increased their lead in crucial minutes of the game. The third all-out came In the 39th minute with Bengaluru earning a nine-point lead with just over a minute to play, ensuring the game was in their grasp.
Sunil Kumar, Parvesh Bhainswal, and Hadi Oshtorak gave it all in the defense for Gujarat but they were just not good enough to contain the top raider of the tournament in Pawan consistently. Costly errors meant that they could never take the lead in crucial moments as Bengaluru kept edging away.
They will be disappointed with this performance. Saurabh Nandal was the best defender for the Bulls with three tackle points.
Despite the win, the Bulls will also need to work on their defense cutting their unnecessary errors which could have cost them the game on another night. A second consecutive win will give them more confidence as they get ready to face Patna Pirates next up, which will be a game to watch.
On the other hand, Gujarat Giants play U Mumba next and with four defeats in their last five games, they will be desperate to come back strong.