Bengaluru Bulls ended their home leg with a tight 32-30 win over the Jaipur Pink Panthers in their Pro Kabaddi League match at the Shree Kanteerava Indoor Stadium in Bengaluru on Wednesday.
Earlier on the night, Tamil Thalaivas beat the winless Telugu Titans 38-36.
An outstanding defensive performance saw the Bulls log an incredible 13 tackle points – eight of which came from defensive corners Saurabh Nandal and Aman.
Despite the Bulls’ quick start on the mat, the Pink Panthers’ defensive nous came to the fore, as they slowly chipped away on the scoreboard. Despite a lack of any multi-point raids, the Bulls were soon facing an all out.
That setback did little to dim the hopes of the home team though, who slowly came back into the game. The Bulls tightened their raiding and defending moves to put the Pink Panthers on the back foot. The teams went into the break with the Pink Panthers leading by one point at 15-14.
Again, the Pink Panthers came faster out of the blocks in the second half, establishing a good lead, but the Bulls struck back soon enough. They inflicted an all out of their own to draw level at 21 apiece. The difference was a tightening of the defence. The Bulls logged an outstanding eight tackle points, six more than their opponents in the second half alone.
A battle of attrition ensued, with neither team managing to establish a lead of more than a point till the final minute of the game. Vikash Kandola went in for the Bulls’ final raid when they had finally established a two-point lead. Almost immediately though the Pink Panthers pounced, Ankush tackling him to cut the lead to one with just one raid remaining.
V Ajith Kumar was handed the responsibility to help the Pink Panthers at the very least tie the game, but he was brilliantly out-maneuvered by a resolute Bulls defence to spark delirium in the stands.
Thalaivas beat Titans
Narender top-scored for the Thalaivas with 10 points, meanwhile, Pawan Sehrawat and Robin Chaudhary scored 7 points each for the Titans.
Ajit Pawar tackled Narender as the Titans inched ahead at 3-1 in the 3rd minute. The Titans’ defence showcased fantastic form as they continued to hold the lead at 6-4 in the 7th minute. Narender tried to change the momentum, but he couldn’t find a way to collect raid points consistently.
Chaudhary supported his team’s defence unit with a few raid points as the Titans stayed ahead at 10-8 in the 11th minute.
However, Narender and Ajinkya Pawar picked up a raid point each and helped the Thalaivas level the scores 12-12. The side from Tamil Nadu rode on the momentum and reduced the Titans to just one member on the mat. But, Sanjeevi S pulled off a brilliant raid to take out Sagar and Ajinkya Pawar and keep the Titans in the contest.
However, the Thalaivas put relentless pressure on their opponents and inflicted an all out just before the break. The side from Tamil Nadu led at 20-17 at the end of the first half.
Sehrawat pulled off a brilliant raid in the opening minutes of the second half to level the scores at 20-20. Thereafter both sides played out a neck-to-neck battle and were locked at 22-22 in the 26th minute. Sehrawat tried to jump over the defenders, but Sahil Gulia pulled off a brilliant tackle to help Thalaivas hold the lead at 25-24 in the 32nd minute.
Pawar effected a fantastic double-point raid in the 37th minute as the Thalaivas attained a four-point lead at 32-28. But the Titans carried out a super tackle and weren’t far behind at 31-32. However, the Thalaivas sealed the deal after inflicting an all out in the final minute of the match.