The Bengaluru Bulls faced the Patna Pirates in ‘Match 120’ of the Pro Kabaddi League Season 8, as the two sides clashed in one of the most thrilling encounters of the season.
The Pirates came in hot into the game with a six-match winning streak to their name and were able to move past the Bulls to confirm their first-place finish this season. The Bulls tried their best to get a win over their opponents to confirm their spot into the playoffs but will now have to rely on their final fixture to do so.
The Pirates had one change in their team as strike raider Monu Goyat was finally back into the plating seven after a long seven-game absence from the squad due to injury. Playing in for Guman Singh, the player had a decent outing for his team as he picked up nine points for his team. However, the raider had five unsuccessful raids against the Bulls and will have to work on himself as the playoffs are just a week away.
On the other hand, the defensive unit was on fire tonight as they picked up a total of seventeen tackle points throughout the entire game courtesy of Thigh 5’s from Mohammadreza Chiyaneh and Sunil Kumar. The two corners were aptly supported by their covers as both C Sajin and Neeraj Kumar looked in fine form picking up a total of five points for their side. Sachin Tawar who has been brilliant for the team so far this season looked a little off his usual colors as the raider could only manage five points for his side, getting tackled an equal amount of times in the process.
The Bulls will be utterly disappointed with how the night turned out for the franchise as this far their opportunity to confirm their slot into the playoffs. The team now has 61 points in their twenty-one appearances and will be desperate for a win in their final game against the Haryana Steelers this Thursday to make way into the knockout stages of the tournament. Skipper Pawan looked out of touch as he could only fetch seven raid points to his name. The raider was tackled eight times during the game and spent most of the time on the sidelines waiting for his revival.
C Sajin dashes Pawan Sehrawat before he can reach the midline
Bharat who has been a great support raider for Pawan this season looked helpless as the Patna-based franchise were all over the raider from the get-go and did not allow him to score freely in both halves of the game. Bharat could only manage four points for his side and seemed ineffective for the majority of the contest. The defensive unit tried their best to keep their side in the game but did not receive much support from their raiders which was one of the biggest talking points from tonights’ fixture.
Saurabh Nandal led the charge for the defense as he racked up four tackle points for his side, Mayur Kadam and Mahender Singh had decent outings as well as both the defenders were able to fetch two points for their side each.
The Bulls had the early advantage in the game as their defense kept s tight check on the Pirates and did not allow them to score openly in the first ten minutes of the half. Sachin broke the deadlock for his side as he scored consecutive points to get his side into the lead. The Pirates rode on the momentum and inflicted the first all-out of the game upon their opponents in the closing minutes of the first half to gain a considerable five-point lead upon their opponents.
The Bulls fired back strong in the second half of the contest but they could not get far away with the match as Patna hammered them down with consecutive tackle points to regain the lead back in their favor. Mohammadreza and Sunil were in red hot form in the second half of the contest as they rained down on the raiders and kept them completely out of the contest. With just two minutes left in the contest, both sides were almost neck to neck, but Patna jumped ahead of their opponents with a tackle point on Pawan Sehrawat to close the book on their opponents.
With a win over the Bengaluru Bulls, the Pirates have confirmed that they will finish at the top of the points table irrespective of the result in their remaining two games. However, the Bengaluru-based franchise on the other hand is out of all available options and will need to win their final game against the Steelers at all costs if they wish to make it into the playoffs.