Bengaluru Bulls get back to winning ways with comprehensive 31-26 win against U.P. Yoddha
The Bengaluru Bulls secured a clinical 31-26 win over the U.P. Yoddha to get back to winning ways in Match 87 of Pro Kabaddi League Season 8 on Tuesday. The Bengaluru Bulls put in a much better showing in the defense department which played a major role in their win.
This was the Bengaluru Bulls’ ninth win in the tournament which came after two successive losses to the Haryana Steelers and the Puneri Paltan. With this win, the Bulls further fortified their position in the second spot in the points table and now have 51 points to their name from 17 matches.
U.P. Yoddha, on the other hand, rose to the sixth position after taking away one point from the match. Although tied on the same points as the Bengal Warriors, the U.P. Yoddha sit above them courtesy of a superior Points Difference of +6 as compared to the Warriors’ -20.
U.P. Yoddha made a strong start, tackling ‘Hi-Flyer’ Pawan Sehrawat in the first minute of the game. Bengaluru Bulls kicked off their points as they tackled ‘Record Breaker’ Pardeep Narwal in the second minute of the game. However, Pardeep had picked up a bonus point.
Both sides made strong starts in their defense in what was expected to be a raid-fest. The game ebbed and flowed from there as a combination of raid and tackle points from both sides had the game tied at 7-7 at the end of the tenth minute.
Post that, it was the Bengaluru Bulls all along as they assumed a lead. Left corner defender Aman was terrific and tackled Pardeep Narwal in the eleventh minute. Surender Gill’s error in the defense gifted another point to the Bulls. Taghi was tackled in a do-or-die raid.
In what seemed to be a comeback for UP, Pawan Kumar was tackled in a super tackle situation. However, the Bulls executed a tackle following which Pawan tagged both defenders and inflicted an all-out on the U.P. outfit.
From there, the Bulls kept picking up single points in the raid while U.P. managed single points in both departments. Both sides traded blows to end the first half with the score reading 19-13 in favor of the Bulls.
Shrikant Jadhav escapes an ankle hold and claims another touchpoint
The second half started with Shrikant Jadhav sending back Saurabh Nandal as he writhed free from an ankle hold. Pawan returned the favor and did one better as he picked up a bonus point along with getting a point on the left-in defender as well.
There seemed to be a decisive moment in the match in the twenty-fifth minute when Surender Gill produced a piece of brilliance. After being blocked and pinned down, Surender got a surge of energy and propelled himself towards the midline, with all five of the Bulls defenders having come in for the tackle.
Gill was deemed out but U.P. reviewed for the same. Replays suggested that Gill had gotten his fingertips on the midline but was just millimeters away from crossing it. The Bulls heaved a sigh of relief and carried on their merry ways.
In the two do-or-die raids that followed, U.P. Yoddha secured a raid and tackle point. However, the Bulls put in a Super Tackle in the thirty-first minute and a point in the raiding courtesy of Bharat pulled back matters for the Bulls. Single points in the raid from Bharat and Aman’s continued efforts in the defense put the score at 30-21 in the thirty-sixth minute.
U.P. Yoddha brought down the score difference to six points as a Super Tackle on Pawan Sehrawat was followed by a raid point by substitute raider Sahil. Gill got a bonus point for the Yoddha outfit and secured a tackle point as well to get the score to 31-26. With more than thirty seconds on the clock, U.P. resorted to putting in an empty raid to take away one point from the contest.
On the other hand, the Bulls will now be looking to get some momentum going into the business end of the tournament, U.P. will look to make a strong comeback in their next fixture against Patna Pirates.