U.P. Yoddha defenders guide them to a 40-36 victory over Bengal Warriors in a see-saw battle
U.P. Yoddha extended their winning streak to three matches as they outclassed Bengal Warriors 40-36 in Match No. 69 of the Pro Kabaddi League Season 8 at the Sheraton Grand Hotel and Convention Centre in Bengaluru on Saturday.
Maninder Singh opened the account for Bengal Warriors with a bonus but the UP Yoddha defenders chain tackled him in the same raid. Sukesh Hegde sneaked through two Yoddhas defenders while Ran Singh took down Pardeep Narwal with a diving double ankle-hold to give the Warriors an early three-point lead.
Surender Gill scalped a bonus while Mohammad Nabibakhsh mistakenly slipped into the lobby. Sumit equalized the proceedings with a precise ankle-hold on Maninder to complete the Yoddhas’ early comeback. Ran Singh took down Pardeep in the latter’s Do-or-Die raid but the Yoddhas defenders one-by-one trimmed the Warriors players with crunching tackles on the other end.
Pardeep made the most of Amit and Abozar’s early lunging tackles to sneak in two solo raid points. But, Ravindra Kumavat helped the Warriors survive an All-Out by getting a bonus and a touchpoint to revive Maninder who thanked his diligence by returning with two touchpoints and a bonus to score a ‘Super Raid’ giving the Warriors a one-point lead at the time.
Vijin stepped out of bounds mistakenly to inflict a self-out to level the scoreline and Pardeep tumbled past Ran’s frontal challenge to restrict the Warriors to only a single player. Sukesh bagged a bonus against a seven-sided Yoddha unit while escaping Ashu’s tackle attempt to delay the inevitable.
Pardeep escaped from Nabibakhsh’s ankle-hold while Yoddhas defenders circled last man Sukesh successfully this time to inflict the first All-Out. The Yoddhas were 16-15 ahead and Sumit’s ankle hold on Maninder put the latter on the bench again.
Nitesh’s ankle-hold on Sukesh further increased Yoddhas’ lead. Maninder scored a toe-touch alongside a bonus to win Bengal’s final points as they trailed 18-19 at the break.
UP Yoddha defenders take down Sukesh Hegde
Maninder began the second half with a toe-touch on his Do-or-Die raid, while Abozar’s lunging ankle-hold on Pardeep’s Do-or-Die raid shifted the momentum in the Warriors’ favor.
Gill’s silky toe-touch on Ran Singh equalized the proceedings while Sumit took down Maninder with an ankle-hold for the third time. Abozar lifted Gill over his shoulders to win his second tackle point from as many minutes as the see-saw battle continued.
Four UP Yoddhas defenders tackled Nabibakhsh brutally in his Do-or-Die raid, while Shrikant Jadhav made a brilliant ‘Dubki’ to escape from the clutches of Ran Singh and Sukesh to give the Yoddhas a three-point advantage.
Ravindra crawled backward to pick up a touchpoint in his Do-or-Die raid and revived Maninder. However, the latter was sent back to the bench immediately courtesy of Sumit’s vicious ankle-hold as the Warriors were down to only three men.
Gill’s scorpion kick on Ravindra trimmed the Warriors down to two defenders while Pardeep completed the formalities by escaping from Abozar’s ankle-hold and a dash to inflict the second All-Out. The scoreline read 30-23 at the time and the Yoddhas didn’t look behind any further.
Maninder picked up solo raid points to complete another ‘Super 10’ while the Yoddhas defenders and raiders kept on piling points from the other end. The seven-point deficit was maintained until the final four minutes of the game as the Yoddhas relied on their defensive solidity.
Maninder picked up two touchpoints in pursuit while capitalizing on an advanced dash attempt from a Yoddhas defender to close the gap to four points. However, he fell prey to another ankle-hold from a Yoddhas left corner defender as the UP-based side bagged a ‘Super Tackle’ and put a screeching halt to the Warriors’ comeback hopes.
Nabibakhsh lept over the body of a lunging defender to win a raid point while Pardeep didn’t attempt a touch in the buzzer ‘Do-or-Die’ raid of the contest to concede a consolation point.
The final scoreline read 40-36 in favor of UP Yoddha as they moved to the fourth position in the table with the win and now face Haryana Steelers on Sunday.
On the other hand, the Bengal Warriors slipped one position below in the standings to the fifth spot after this loss and will now compete against Jaipur Pink Panthers on Monday.