Maninder Singh was the star for the Bengal Warriors as they beat Haryana Steelers 48-36 in their Pro Kabaddi match in Pune on Thursday.
The victory helped Bengal Warriors consolidate their stay in the second place of the points table.
Bengal Warriors dominated the first half of the match with their raiding trio of Maninder Singh, K Prapanjan and Mohammad Nabibakhsh picking points with ease against a Haryana defence that evidently lacked leadership.
Bengal’s dominance wasn’t limited to their raids though as their aggressive approach in defence paid rich dividends.
Steelers’ star raider Vikas Kandola suffered five tackles in the first half as he struggled to break free from an in-form Bengal defence led by Baldev Singh.
The Warriors inflicted two all-outs in the first half (7th and 13th minute) to open up a 15-point lead.
Vinay was the lone fighter for the Steelers and his raiding skills ensured the Haryana had an outside chance of coming back into the match as the half ended 30-14.
The Warriors secured their third all-out in the second minute after half time but the Steelers came back into the match strongly.
Vinays three-point super raid in the third minute was followed by a four-point raid by Vikas Kandola which secured Steelers a vital all-out in the fifth minute of the second half.
But the Warriors defenders steadied the ship once again, with Baldev picking up his High 5 in the 11th minute.
Vikas Kandola and Vinay kept picking up points for the Steelers to reduce the Bengal men on the mat but Prapanjan’s consistency in his raids, that saw him pick up a two-point raid with under four minutes left in the match, meant the Haryana side couldnt inflict the all-out they needed to close the gap on the Warriors.
Haryana’s loss exposed the lack of depth in their defence and coach Rakesh Kumar will be looking to quickly address the issue to prevent negative results in the most crucial part of the season.
On Friday, Telugu Titans take on Patna Pirates before Puneri Paltan finish their home leg with a match against defending champions Bengaluru Bulls.
Points Table
| RANK | TEAM | MATCHES PLAYED | WON | LOST | DRAW | Score Difference | POINTS |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | DABANG DELHI K.C | 16 | 13 | 2 | 1 | 68 | 69 |
| 2 | BENGAL WARRIORS | 17 | 10 | 4 | 3 | 84 | 63 |
| 3 | HARYANA STEELERS | 16 | 10 | 5 | 1 | 25 | 54 |
| 4 | BENGALURU BULLS | 16 | 9 | 7 | 0 | 14 | 49 |
| 5 | U MUMBA | 16 | 8 | 7 | 1 | 29 | 48 |
| 6 | U.P.YODDHA | 16 | 8 | 6 | 2 | -46 | 48 |
| 7 | JAIPUR PINK PANTHERS | 16 | 7 | 8 | 1 | -6 | 43 |
| 8 | PUNERI PALTAN | 17 | 5 | 9 | 3 | -46 | 37 |
| 9 | PATNA PIRATES | 16 | 6 | 10 | 0 | 8 | 35 |
| 10 | GUJARAT FORTUNEGIANTS | 16 | 5 | 10 | 1 | -8 | 35 |
| 11 | TELUGU TITANS | 15 | 4 | 9 | 2 | -58 | 30 |
| 12 | TAMIL THALAIVAS | 17 | 3 | 11 | 3 | -64 | 30 |