Bengaluru Bulls staged a comeback to hand Telugu Titans a 42-26 defeat on the opening day of their home leg in the Pro Kabaddi League match at the Gachibowli Indoor Stadium in Hyderabad on Friday. In the second match, the Patna Pirates came up with a 34-31 win against the UP Yoddhas.
Left raider Akshit, who came off the bench, was Bengaluru Bulls’ star player with nine points, while Surjeet Singh excelled with six tackle points.
Telugu Titans got off to a good start and took the early lead, but the Bengaluru Bulls clawed their way back into the game to make it 5-5. However, the home side seized control of the game through two huge super tackles and skipper Pawan Sehrawat followed it up with a couple of points to make it 10-6. Backed by a capacity home crowd, Telugu Titans led by three points at the break.
It was a game of two halves as Bengaluru Bulls took over in the second half. A multi-point raid from Vikash Kandola led to the first all out at 14-12. Akshit was the pick of the Bengaluru Bulls’ raiders as he grabbed point after point, leading his side to a 22-16 lead.
The home side was reduced to one man and it was a matter of time before the all out was inflicted and Bengaluru Bulls led 26-19. With eight minutes to go, it looked like the Bulls would seal the win.
And they did, in some style. It took them just five more minutes to inflict a third all out and Akshit, once again, played a key role in that. It was only fitting that he wrapped up the game with an incredible 4-point raid that got the Bengaluru Bulls back to winning ways.
Pirates beat Yoddhas
The Patna Pirates beat the UP Yoddhas for the second time in the season. Ankit (five points) and M Babu’s (four points) defensive nous was the real difference for the Pirates on the day.
The Patna Pirates kicked off strongly, and by the time Sandeep Kumar put in his multi-point raid with three minutes gone, the UP Yoddhas were already in trouble. As has been the case through the season Pardeep Narwal struggled through the half registering just one point.
The defence really was the difference between the two sides, and the Patna Pirates were doing better with it. They inflicted the first ALL OUT in the sixth minute of the game to take a 11-4 lead. They kept up their pressure and went into the break leading by 6 at the break.
The Yoddhas’ defensive struggles continued well into the second half and at one point the Patna Pirates had streaked to a 10 point lead. A super tackle by Hitesh staved off a second all out and kept them in the game with the final quarter of the game to go.
The two defenders of the Yoddhas defence put on a prolonged resistance in a brilliant final quarter performance. Anil Kumar getting successful raids in do or die moments. In a twist, they even clawed back a lot of the lead in the final minute of the game. Narwal's error of judgement on the Yoddhas final raid, with barely 20 seconds left blew their chance of an extraordinary comeback though, as the Patna Pirates edged to a three point victory.
Limited-time offer: Big stories, small price. Keep independent media alive. Become a Scroll member today!
Our journalism is for everyone. But you can get special privileges by buying an annual Scroll Membership. Sign up today!