Bengaluru Bulls played out a thrilling match against Bengal Warriors in the 67th match of the Pro Kabaddi League Season 8 at the Sheraton Grand Convention Centre in Bengaluru on Thursday.
Before this match, Bengal Warriors were unbeaten in their last three matches while their opponents the Bengaluru bulls won two out of the last three matches. The match was supposed to be played between Patna Pirates and the Bengaluru Bulls but the Bengal Warriors were playing instead of the Pirates as the match was rescheduled.
Pawan Kumar Sehrawat started off slowly with just a solitary raid point in the first three raids of the match. The Bulls were trailing by 4-1 but Chandran Ranjit stepped up to the occasion with 3 points in the first 9 minutes. The Bengal Warriors defenders were impressive and that allowed them to be dominant.
Both the teams slowed down the pace of the match and the half-time ended with 14-13 as Pawan Kumar pinned Mohammad Nabibaksh down to the mat. The Warriors and the Bulls had a tackle success rate of 75% and 70% respectively. No raider had scored more than 3 points in the first half.
In the second minute of the first half, skipper Pawan pulled off a super raid as he jumped over the defenders and gained a one-point lead for the red outfit. Sukesh Hegde equalised the scores at 16-all with a bonus point but the Bulls inflicted an all-out and gave them a 20-17 lead.
Post the all-out, the Bengaluru-based franchise continued their dominance as Pawan was absolutely stellar. Maninder Singh couldn’t script a comeback like the opponent’s captain in the first few minutes of the second half as Bengaluru Bulls consolidated their lead. Sukesh Hegde was the top raider for the Bengal Warriors but the majority of the points came in bonus points.
Pawan Kumar Sehrawat bagged 13 points in tonight’s clash
In the 30th minute of the match, Mohammad Nabibaksh’s controversial raid was the talking point of the match. The raider stepped into the lobby area without touch and so did the Bulls defenders. This resulted in a point for the Bengaluru Bulls but 8 points for the Bengal Warriors as all the defenders were in the lobby without a touch. The defending champions were in the lead with no effort of their own and that was mirrored by Nabibaksh’s smirk at the end of the chaos. A couple of reviews later, the Warriors were in the lead and then consolidated the valuable lead.
The Bulls had a 28-21 lead before the raid but Nabibaskh’s 8-point raid gave the Warriors an advantage. An all-out in the next minute meant that the Warriors gained a 3-point lead completely changing the complexion of the match.
Post that raid, the Warriors were in the lead till the final raid of the match. Pawan Kumar miscalculated which didn’t allow them a final attempt to tie or win the match.
Bengaluru Bulls will lock horns with the Gujarat Giants in the 74th match of the league while the Bengal Warriors face off with the Jaipur Pink Panthers in the following match.