Welcome to Sportstar's coverage of the Pro Kabaddi League. This is Lavanya Lakshminarayanan and I will be taking you through the Boxing Day PKL match between Bengal Warriors and Bengaluru Bulls on Sunday.
We need to lie down after this game and thankfully we have just the two fixtures today. Join us for another pair of exciting fixtures tomorrow as Tamil Thalaivas take on U Mumba in match 1 and UP Yoddha take on Jaipur Pink Panthers in match 2. See you tomorrow. Until then,
check out our full PKL coverage here.
Bengal Warriors had an early hold on this game with Maninder leading from the front. This featured a mindblowing six point raid from Mani whose dangling hand pipped a strong Bulls defensive move. But Pawan Sehrawat was not to be outshone. He put in a seven point raid to clear out the entire Warriors lineup. The momentum swung emphatically as the Bulls raced ahead for a while. Maninder and Nabibakhsh then banded together to pull things back for the Warriors. Randhir Singh, coach of the Bulls, then pulled off one of the most effective substitutions we've seen in the league so far by bringing in Dong Geon Lee and targeting Bengal's weak cover defenders. With a slender two-point lead secured, all Mahender had to do when Nabibakhsh came in for the last raid of the night was to ensure he didn't walk away with anything more than a point. Says so much that the top raider and defender in the game were from the Warriors camp but that one game-changer Dong Geon Lee made all the difference in ensuring the Warriors were handed a humbling - their first loss of the season so far.
36-35 Nabibakhsh comes in for the final raid is blocked by Mahender right up front. Wrestling moves here from Mahender as he does not allow Nabibakhsh even breathe in the direction of the rest of the line-up and the job is done. Bengal Warriors fall short of a win by one solitary point.
36-34
Pawan gets a point and raises that lead to two points.
34-35
Mani gets a touch point and powers his way to the midline
33-35
Dong Geon Lee is targetted Abozar Mighani and gets two touch points as he inches his way to the midline with two men holding on to him
33-33
Warriors tackle Pikalmunde. Scores tied. Errors by Bulls. Pikalmunde has struggled in the do-or-die raids. Why is this their strategy? Don Geon Lee is subbed in by the Bulls.
33-32
Pawan Sehrawat gets a bonus point but hes tackled out. It should have been a point as he's pushed out to the lobby but after getting his hand through. But Bulls don't have a review.
Just over a minute to go. One point lead for the Warriors
32-31 SUPER RAID FOR MANINDER. Bonus plus two touch points taking Warriors' points tally to 33.
Maninder has helped Warriors take the lead. This is absolutely unbelievable. But the referees have redacted the bonus point and Bengal will review. REVIEW UNSUCCESSFUL as we see Mani just cutting the black line. ONE POINT LEAD NOW. But more importantly, no reviews left for Bengal.
About 4 minutes and 20 seconds to go. Brace yourselves.
Okay Google. How many heartbeats can you miss before it kills you? This game is really not good for the weakhearted!
30-31 ALL OUT EFFECTED BY NABIBAKHSH. DOING IT SINGLE HANDEDLY RIGHT NOW
as he pulls down the last Bulls player standing to cut the gulf down to a single point.
27-30
Bulls down to one man as Nabibakhsh is gifted a point as one of the defenders go for his ankles. He flies above them though. Sublime.
26-30
Bonus point for Bengaluru. Two men remain on the mat and Amit Sheoran comes on the mat. Two defenders on the mat for a super tackle opportunity. Can Nabibakhsh get both defenders out?
26-29
Nabibakhsh gets a running hand touch on Mahender. What a time to get into action. Bulls down to two men.
RC Ramesh:
Avoid Chandran Ranjit.
Randhir Singh's focus is entirely on Nabibakhsh. Don't give them the all-out.
25-29
Pawan gets a bonus but Nabibakhsh gets a hold on his ankles and pulls him straight down.
24-28
Nabibakhsh sends a defender out of bounds to get the Warriors a point. Nabibakhsh needs to support Maninder. The gulf can't come down without support.
23-28
Maninder gets to work right away. He's got two touch points and has to step up for Bengal to make a comeback in this game.
21-28 ALL OUT Pawan does just that and gets Nabibakhsh. The defender stepped out as well which makes it a four point raid.
Randhir Singh to Pawan: Produce a bluff. Nabibaksh will go for your knees. See out the other corner and wait for him to crouch then you can get Nabibakhsh.
21-24
Bonus for Nabibakhsh. First point from six raids for the Iranian. Not on character this from him.
20-24 Bulls running away with this as mistakes creep in for Bengal. Abozar runs and tries to block Pawan from the back as he tries to root him to the spot. Nabibakhsh was standing there, in position to offer assistance but is late to react as Pawan's foot sways over the line to give him and Bulls a point.
20-23 Bengaluru Bulls is riding high on the momentum. Maninder's ankles get stuck in the defence and is pulled back.
20-22 SUPER 10 for Pawan Sehrawat! His 33rd career Super 10 as he gets a touch while dashing to the midline.
20-21 Maninder gets a bonus point
19-21
Running hand touch from Pawan to get another point for the Bulls. Focusing on single points is helping Pawan. Safety first strategy.
19-20
Good work by the Bulls here in defence. Akash Pikalmunde moves right into the chain and is brought down.
19-19 Sachin Vittala has tackled Chandran Ranjit down in a do-or-die raid. Good substitution for Bengal Warriors as he has looked much brighter than Rinku for the Warriors. But there is an appeal for a jersey pull here. The replay really shows the strength with which Sachin powers Ranjit down with a frontal block before Abozar and Co. come to his assistance.
REVIEW unsuccessful as Sachin's efforts are rewarded.
18-19
Akash Pikalmunde gets a touch on a defender but seems to push out Mahender, but we see that he got the touch first and was tackled right after so the point goes to the Bulls. Bare margins here.
The India women's Kabaddi team is watching this match on the virtual screen from their training camp.
SUBSTITUTION: Rinku Narwal was struggling there as he doesn't even look at Chandran Ranjit for most part of his raid. He is subbed off for Akash Pikalmunde.
18-18
Bengal Warriors begin the second half with power as Nabibakhsh gets an ankle hold on Pawan and pushes him out of the mat.
HT | BENGAL WARRIORS,
after leading by over seven points for most part of the half, conceded a seven-point raid to allow
BENGALURU BULLS to come back and take the lead in this game. Ridiculous sport, ridiculous man - out of the world performances from the Mani and Pawan to get this game going. Who will walk away with a win? Stay with us to find out.
Oh also, Maninder raced to a Super 10 in this half. Can he keep the intensity up to help Bengal claim and seal this game?
17-18
Pawan gets a bonus point
17-17
Easy touch point for Bengal to restore parity.
AGAIN.
16-17
Pawan gets yet another touch point and this lead is going to keep changing hands.
16-16
Maninder restores parity by getting a point through the middle.
15-16 SUPER RAID BY PAWAN SEHRAWAT. WHAT WAS BENGAL THINKING?
He gets Abozar first, who steps out of the endline. bU
ALL OUT EFFECTED! HOW THE TABLES HAVE TURNED! SEVEN POINT RAID.
15-9 OH BULLS ARE COMING BACK NOW.
Sukesh is trapped on the corner. Bharat and Saurabh Nandal take charge and get him out.
15-8
Pawan does not mess around now. He gets a bonus point.
15-7
BULLS FINALLY GET MANI. He goes too deep in the left corner and Mahender Singh plays out of position to effect a frontal block, plugging that space for him to sneak out. Pawan Sehrawat is back on the mat as a result.
Nabibakhsh has a slight smirk permanently fixed on his face. Confidence dripping from this side.
15-6
Abozar Mighani finally picks up a tackle point as he brings down Chandran Ranjit.
14-6
Rinku Narwal returns the favour after impact with Chandran Ranjit
14-5 WHY IS PAWAN TRYING TO TACKLE MANINDER?
Stick to raiding Pawan. Pawan tries to come in as the right cover and ends up being bulldozed out of the mat through the middle by Maninder.
13-5 Bengaluru given a point here after a review for a pursuit.
13-4 Maninder is making this look to easy. He goes towards the left cover and is held down but pulling away is no big task for him. What are the Bulls doing here?
12-4 Chandran Ranjit gets a point for the Bulls. His responsibility needs to move from being second fiddle to seriously focus on getting the points,
12-3
Darshan dashes Pawan out of the mat after which he gets support from his teammates. Pawan has been sent off to the mat three times already. Pure dominance.
11-3 Oh this is a six point raid from Mani.
The Bulls hold his legs and try and pull him back but Mani pulls and pulls away to the midline to effect an all-out.
Funny that the term Bull seems to fit this Bengal captain better.
5-3
Rinku Narwal catches Pawan Sehrawat completely off guard and sends him to the bench
4-3 Bonus point for Pawan Sehrawat! Chipping away here.
4-2
Mani comes in for a do-or-die raid. He goes in to the left cover and the defenders try an advanced tackle on him but Mani pulls away with ease.
3-2
Chandran Ranjit is interrupted with a late dash from Parveen but Ranjit gets over the line just in time to get a point for his side
3-1
Mani draws an error from the Bengaluru defense as he pulls out Aman, who gets an ankle hold but Mani slips out with far too much ease.
2-1
Pawan has been taken down in the middle of the mat. Cover defence - Darshan from the right - comes and takes him down as he tries to fly up above the Bengal players. The aerial route is not working for Pawan this season.
1-1 Easy tumble through the midline for Pawan Sehrawat, but not empty-handed. Rinku Narwal is sent to rest to the bench.
1-0
Maninder Singh starts with a point in his first raid.
A brief look at the rules, for the uninitiated.
LINEUPS:
Bengal Warriors: Maninder Singh, Darshan, Parveen Satpal, Nabibakhsh, Sukesh Hegde, Abozar Mighani, Rinku Narwal
Bengaluru Bulls: Pawan Sehrawat, Mayur Jaganath, Mahender Singh, Bharat, Chandran Ranjit, Saurabh Nandal, Aman
8:30pm: DELHI has snatched a draw from what looked like a sure shot victory for Gujarat after a hasty tackle from Ravinder Pahal gifts Naveen a point in the game and on the board. It's now time for a massive encounter. Bengaluru vs Bengal. Here are the lineups.
8:20pm: There was an injury concern for the Warriors in their previous game when Maninder Singh limped off the mat after a rash ankle hold. Given his injury history, we hope things are okay with Mani. Bengaluru meanwhile just needs to sort its head out on the mat and resist the temptation to act in haste. A star player to watch out for will certainly be Mohammed Esmail Nabibakhsh who has been a massive asset for this side. He leads our list of foreign players to watch out for in PKL 8.
8:15pm: In a few minutes, we are set to see Pawan Sehrawat and Bengaluru Bulls take on a high on confidence Bengal Warriors unit in the second game of day 5 of the ProKabaddi League. Bengaluru Bulls is still yet to figure out its defensive fortifications and has leaked points throughout its games so far, while Bengal Warriors have looked like the side that's most sorted in terms of term combination and rhythm. It's attack AND defence has come good in the last two games and Maninder & Co. will hope to make short work of this Bulls side. However, as we've seen time and time again, it takes just ONE game to change momentum and ANYTHING can happen in this game. Exciting!
8:10pm: A very dicey match between Dabang Delhi and Gujarat Giants is on where the famed Gujaraty defense seems to be having an off day in a game dominated by the raiders. Join my colleague Shyam for the live coverage of that game. Click here.
Meanwhile, you can also check out our Kings of Kabaddi series from PKL 7 - a happier time pre-COVID when we got to physically sit down with some of the biggest names in the league and hear their stories. You can check out all episodes here:
Hey folks, welcome to another day of Pro Kabaddi League action! It's day 5 of action in Bengaluru. The triple headers are done for the week and we have just two (sigh) interesting fixtures to dive into today.
Before we introduce you to the fixtures of the day, here's a look at the results from the first three days -
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