Bengal Warriors survived a second half scare as they beat Bengaluru Bulls 33-29 in the VIVO Pro Kabaddi League here today.
Maninder Singh made a crucial super raid in the dying minutes of the match as Warriors held on to a narrow win. Bengal Warriors defenders Ravinder Pahal and and Mahender Singh scored five points each but were let down by raiders Rohit and Ajay Kumar.
Harish Naik scored 11 raid points for Bengaluru Bulls. Surjeet Singh scored six points whereas Maninder ended with nine points for Bengal Warriors.
Bengal Warriors are second in Zone B with 58 points from 17 matches. Bengaluru Bulls remain fourth with 34 points from 16 matches.
Bengal Warriors made a flying start to lead 5-1 as Deepak Narwal scored three points in four minutes. Bengaluru Bulls raiders couldn’t get into the match as they scored just one point to trail 4-8 in the seventh minute. Bengal Warriors inflicted an all out in the eighth minute to lead 11-4.
Harish Naik scored with a two-point raid and Rohit Kumar scored his first point as Bengaluru Bulls trailed 8-14 after 12 minutes. Bengal Warriors were looking comfortable as they ended the first half leading 18-10.
Bengaluru Bulls trailed 13-20 after 25 minutes as they tried to stage a comeback in the second half. Maninder Singh got two points with a raid in the 26th minute to give Bengal Warriors 22-14 lead. Bengaluru’s two main raiders Rohit Kumar and Ajay Kumar were struggling to get points on the board.
With 30 minutes played Bengal Warriors held a 10-point lead and were on course to an easy victory. Harish Naik was the lone source of raid points for Bulls as he scored three more to trail 18-26. Bengaluru Bulls sparked back into life as they reduced Bengal Warriors to just one man and trailed 20-26 after 35 minutes.