The Tamil Thalaivas took on the Bengaluru Bulls in the 84th contest of the Pro Kabaddi League Season 8 in the highly awaited South Indian derby here at Sheraton Grand, Bengaluru on Sunday. The Thalaivas were all over their opponents throughout the contest and registered a 42-24 victory at the end of the final whistle.
Pawan Kumar Sehrawat will be disappointed with how the night turned out for his team as the Bulls failed to perform well in the absence of their skipper yet again. The team could not function well with Pawan sidelined for the majority of the game waiting for revival. Bharat and Chandran Ranjit tried their best to pull the Bulls back into the game but did not receive any support from their defenders tonight.
On the other hand, the Thalaivas functioned like a well-oiled machine picking up points in both the offensive and the defensive departments. Manjeet and Anjinkya Pawar were electric for their team as they duo racked up a total of nineteen points to their name. The defense wasn’t behind by any means, as Sagar became the first defender to cross the fifty-point mark this season. Sagar picked up his sixth Thigh 5 of the season and played a key role in defense where the Thalaivas picked up seventeen points to their name.
The game started off slow as both sides took a cautious approach to the game, however, Pawan took matters into his own hand as he started off hot against the Thalaivas with back-to-back touchpoints in consecutive raids. The Tamil Nadu-based franchise bounced back as they tackled the raider and, registered a solid momentum in the game, and never turned back.
Bharat in full stretch as he tries to get a touchpoint on the left corner against Tamil Thalaivas
The Bulls tried to make a comeback in the game but could not get past the strong defensive unit of the Thalaivas which turned out to be their ultimate downfall in the game. The Bengaluru-based franchise had a disappointing outing as they could only fetch seven points in the entire game.
Coach Randheer Singh will have a lot on his mind, as the Bulls have been widely inconsistent this season and Pawan has been the only saving grace for their side. The defense will need to step up their game if they wish to finish amongst the top two teams this season. The team will face staunch competition from both Patna Pirates and Dabang Delhi as both sides have shown better coordination than the Bulls and are the prime contenders to finish at the top two slots.
The Thalaivas have been in good form and will look to continue their momentum as they face Telugu Titans in yet another South Indian derby on Thursday with hopes to break into the top six at the points table. Manjeet and Sagar have been in great form this season and have emerged as two of the biggest stars for the franchise and the fans will hope that the Thalaivas can reverse their fortunes from the past few seasons and make it into the playoffs this time around.