Bengaluru Bulls stormed to the top of the table as it rode on another stunning performance from captain Pawan Sehrawat to beat Gujarat Giants 46-37 in the Pro Kabaddi League (PKL 8) on Friday.
Pawan scored a stellar 19 points as the Bulls produced a fine all-round display to claim its second successive win. Young raider Bharat was particularly good for the Bulls as he bagged seven raid points and also chipped in with two tackle points. The Gujarat Giants had a star among its ranks in Rakesh HS, who picked up 14 points, but the defence was below-par. The seasoned defensive duo of Sunil and Parvesh scored four points each but they were very error-prone.
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Pawan got off to a strong start and caused all sorts of problems to Gujarat Giants' famed defence. At the other end, Rakesh was also in good form as he picked up points at regular intervals. He produced the game’s first Super Raid in the eighth minute for Gujarat, but Pawan settled the score in the 10th minute with a three-point raid. Parvesh Bhainswal then executed a stunning Super Tackle on Pawan, but it did not deter the Bengaluru Bulls as it inflicted an All Out in the 13th minute. The Bulls had a five-point lead at 22-17 going into the interval.
Pawan got his Super 10 in a two-point raid that saw Gujarat Giants defender Sumit suffer a suspected shoulder injury.
Substitute Pardeep Kumar turned out to be an effective introduction for the Giants as it matched Bulls in the early minutes of the second half. Bharat stepped up for the Bulls as he ensured Pawan spent very little time on the dugout with quick revivals. Pardeep’s heroics or Sunil’s Super Tackle wasn’t good enough to prevent an All Out with 11 minutes remaining.
The Bulls defenders, led by Saurabh Nandal, put in a strong string of tackles towards the end to snuff any hopes of a Gujarat Giants comeback.
- Jaipur Pink Panthers stuns Patna Pirates -
Jaipur Pink Panthers beat table-topper Patna Pirates 38-28 in the first game of the evening. Raider Deepak Niwas Hooda scored a Super 10 and was aided by Arjun Deshwal with nine points. Patna Pirates endured a poor outing as none of its raiders managed to make an impact.
The first half was a closely contested affair with Jaipur matching Patna blow for blow. Monu Goyat looked impressive for the Pirates in the initial minutes while in-form Deepak spearheaded his side's raiding duties. There were no tackle points scored in the first 10 minutes with scores even at 10-10.
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Jaipur Pink Panthers defender Sahul Kumar found his rhythm towards the closing stages of the half as he combined with Deepak to inflict the first All Out in the 19th minute to give their side a four-point lead. Arjun then produced a two-point raid to end the half 18-12 in his team's favour.
Prashanth Rai and Sachin tried to rescue Patna Pirates in the second half, but they failed to close the gap on the Panthers. Patna thought it had a Super Raid when Monu managed to get just a finger past the midline in the 29th minutt, but the referees felt the tackle was complete by then.
The major difference between the teams was how they approached their do-or-Die raids - Jaipur converted most of its while the Pirates was'nt able to. Jaipur had a healthy seven-point lead, and used the momentum to inflict another All Out with less than two minutes on the clock. Mohammadreza Shadloui had a poor outing in the left corner for Patna and Jaipur cruised to its third win on the trot.
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