Champions Bengaluru Bulls returned to winning ways after a come-from-behind 30-26 win over hosts U Mumba at the National Sports Club of India in Mumbai on Sunday.
Pawan Sehrawat starred for the Bulls, scoring 11 points, coming up trumps in the dying minutes of the game that proved to be decisive in the final outcome of the contest.
The game got off to a cagey start with both set of raiders giving the opposite defences due respect. With the game tied at 3-3 after six minutes, Sehrawat went on a scoring spree to put the Bulls 7-3 up.
However, a combination of a two-point raid from U Mumba raider Abhishek Singh and a super tackle, the home side drew level. Arjun Deshwal came to the party for the home side thereafter, transferring the pressure on the Bulls who stayed in touch with their opponents through a couple of super tackles late in the first half.
Despite a numerical disadvantage, the Bulls went into the break with a 13-11 lead. However, U Mumba turned the screws on their opponents the second half. U Mumba bagged their first all-out of the encounter in the 22nd minute to open up a three-point lead.
The home side threatened to run away with the contest, sniffing another all-out at the score reading 21-16 in their favour, but an inspired substitution from Bengaluru Bulls’ coach Randhir Singh helped Bulls avoid a catastrophe. Mohit Sehrawat scored two crucial raid points to send U Mumba captain Fazel Atrachali and Surinder Singh to the bench.
That moment was the turning point for the Bulls who stayed in touch with the home side, before skipper Rohit Kumar came up trumps in a do-or-die raid to revive Sehrawat, who, then took charge of proceedings.
With scores tied at 23-23, Rohit Baliyan prevented an all-out to put U Mumba back in front, but Sehrawat responded with a two-point raid to leave the home side on the brink.
The Bulls sealed a late all-out to open up a three-point lead with less than two minutes left on the clock and U Mumba failed to conjure up a comeback under pressure. It was the home side’s first defeat on home soil having convincingly beaten Puneri Paltan on Saturday.
Dabang Delhi thump Haryana Steelers
Dabang Delhi kept their 100 percent start to the season going with a comprehensive 41-21 victory over Haryana Steelers in the earlier game on Sunday. The Delhi raiders ran riot with Chandran Ranjit (11) and Naveen Kumar (10) both scoring Super 10s.
After a close start to the game, Dabang Delhi pulled away to make it a one-sided contest in the second-half. The Haryana Steelers defence had no answers to the onslaught of the Delhi raiders as raider Naveen who scored nine points on the night was left to wage a lone battle. On Monday, Tamil Thalaivas play Patna Pirates before Bengal Warriors take on Puneri Paltan.