Welcome to the highlights and coverage of the 2nd fixture of the opening day of vivo Pro Kabaddi League 2022 between Bengaluru Bulls and Telugu Titans at the Shree Kanteerava Stadium in Bengaluru on Friday.
COMING UP NEXT IS THE BIG TICKET CLASH BETWEEN RAHUL CHAUDHARI AND PARDEEP NARWAL. Follow LIVE here.
Scores read Bulls vs Titans
34-29 Narendra Hooda brings down Vinay. Why was Rajneesh not brought on for this? These are the situations he thrives in. Game in the bag for Bulls? And that’s that. BULLS WIN THE FIRST SOUTHERN DERBY OF THE SEASON.
SUBSTITUTION: In : Narender Hooda; Out : Mayur Kadam
33-29 Vinay takes out Mahender. Manjeet Chhillar might be proud of this one.
33-28 Neeraj Narwal is brought down by Parvesh Bhainswal
Manjeet Chhillar warns his team on Mahender being on the prowl. He tells Siddharth Desai - Ghana concentrate kar (Concentrate properly)
33-27 Aman is sent to the bench as Titans earn a point, Vinay picking up the point for his side.
33-26 Saurabh Nandal sends Rajneesh to the bench with a solid thigh hold, giving his team enough time to pile over the Titans raider to strike him out.
32-26 Neeraj skips over Ravinder Pahal’s back to pick up a point.
Eh bhaiya. Unka ek bonus aaya to tum bhi le aaoge
— Ranadhir Sehrawat
The Bulls coach is frantically asking his boys to be more patient and look to fight bigger battles rather than losing personnel over bonus attempts.
31-26 Siddharth Desai manages a point via bonus but is ushered off the mat ever so gently. Five point lead to the Bulls with just about five minutes left on the clock.
30-25 Titans get the bonus but Bulls walk away with the all-out. WHAT A TURNAROUND! Smart reviews and a good defending is helping the Bulls.
27-24 Vikash Kandola gets a touch on Surjeet-
26-24 Siddharth Desai is dashed out of the mat, but he manages the bonus.
25-23 Bharat bides his time with his raid and with under 8 minutes left, this is an important contest in the game. Bharat believes he has a touch on Vishal but the official finds Parvesh Bhainswal stepped out. Bharat still reviews as he believes he has Vishal Bharadwaj. Will the second point stand? TWO POINTS AWARDED TO BENGALURU. Referees allow the touch on Vishal and find Parvesh out of bounds. Brilliant this.
Manjeet Chhillar has been talking to his defence and tells his defence to not be hasty with Neeraj. He asks his boys to allow Neeraj time to walk into their trap.
23-23 Mahender Singh brings down Vinay in some spectacular teamwork by the Bulls. Scores level YET AGAIN. But Titans looking a little more sure of themselves on the mat
22-23 Bharat takes out Ravinder Pahal
21-23 Shoddy tackle here from Vikash Kandola who did not need to get involved at all. As a result, Vinay gets a bonus point and Vikash Kandola along with that
21-21 Bharat takes out Vishal Bharadwaj
20-21 Rajneesh gets out the left corner as he swiftly escapes a brittle ankle hold.
20-20 Bulls have appealed for a bonus which the umpires believe does not exist. Neeraj gets the decision in his favour and the Bulls have levelled scores yet again. They also retain their review.
19-20 There’s a player review from Telugu Titans after their raider has been given out. Referees believe there’s no touch point . That reminds us - the first game did not have any reviews. Vinay the raider. The replays need to conclusively show there’s a touch for the decision to be reversed. As it stands, no point to Titans as Vinay seemingly went into the lobby without a touch. REVIEW LOST. BULLS GET THE POINT.
Sportstar caught up with Vikash Kandola when he was a Steeler but the soft-spoken raider spoke about his journey to the PKL and his approach to the game
18-20 All along Vikash Kandola had the better of Parvesh Bhainswal but the tables turn as Bhainswal gets him in a vicious hold long enough for his team to close out any means of escape.
18-19 A shabby tackle by the Bulls but they get their result as Adarsh T is brought down by Mahender in the left corner
17-19 Bharat is brought down by Vishal Bharadwaj. Yet another point to the Titans. Bulls need to bring the momentum down
17-18 Rajneesh is a brilliant raider as he continues to turn things around for his team. Mayur Kadam goes to the bench
17-17 Rajneesh reduces Bulls to just one man on the mat and Kandola comes back. He gets the bonus but he is brought down on the right wing. ALL OUT INFLICTED. BRILLIANT COMEBACK BY THE TITANS. SCORES LEVEL YET AGAIN
16-13 Two players left on the mat for Bulls. Vikash Kandola is one of them and he gets a bonus. But now, the substitution comes for the Bulls to get pure defenders on the mat. Super tackle opportunity up nex.,
15-13 Bulls gift Rajneesh a point as Mayur Kadam steps out of the playing area.
15-12 Surjeet handles Bharat to give Titans another point. Bharat finds himself caught in a Titans body pile.
15-11 Rajneesh dives above the Bengaluru huddle and is up in arms asking for a super raid. AND IT IS. 3 POINTS TO TELUGU TITANS by impact sub Rajneesh. Here’s who he takes out - Saurabh Nandal, Aman, Neeraj Narwal. Look at what that lead looks like now. Damage control.
15-8 Vikash Kandola is quick across the mat as he takes out Parvesh Bhainswal
14-8 A point to Titans as Vinay takes out Aman
14-7 Bonus point for Vikash Kandola
13-7 Yet another point to Neeraj Narwal. This Bengaluru side is giving Patna Pirates of 2021-22 vibes.
12-7 Siddharth Desai has been pushed out yet again, with a combined ankle hold and block. Courtesy Saurabh Nandal
11-7 Bharat goes in and runs down the clock before a massive touch to get Bhainswal. He’s a lovely, even if slightly clumsy, raider to watch
10-6 Bulls have gotten off to a great start here, thanks to their defence. The home team has inflicted an all-out.
7-5 Bulls are now picking up points quickly. Kandola takes out Bhainswal
6-5 Titans get a bonus point
6-4 Bharat takes out Vishal Bharadwaj. Suddenly momentum going Bengaluru’s way
5-4 Siddharth Desai is thrown out of the mat. He is not his old self
4-4 SCORES LEVEL. Neeraj Narwal takes out big dogs Surjeet Singh and Ravinder Pahal
2-4 Aman gets a hold on Monu Goyat’s thigh and the Bulls close him out on the left corner much to the delight of the home crowd.
1-4 Okay, so in updating a few basics here, I’ve missed a few raids here but the story remains the same with Telugu Titans leading Bulls early on. The Titans defence is looking fresh.
0-3 What a start for the Titans as they bring down Bharat on the right flank. Vishal Bharadwaj stepping up for his franchise.
0-1 Kandola comes in for the Bulls and has a kick on the right side. He thinks he has a point but nope.
0-1 Vinay comes in to begin proceedings for Titans and gets a point after managing to reach the midline despite being brought down in the middle of the mat
Just a little weird to see Vikash Kandola in red rather than the blue and grey silks of the Steelers that had become second skin for him. How will he impact the Bulls and their fortunes? Time to find out
Titans: Vinay, Surjeet Singh, Parvesh Bhainswal, Siddharth Desai, Monu Goyat, Ravinder Pahal, Vishal Bharadwaj
Bulls: Vikash Kandola, Mayur Kadam, Mahender Singh, Bharat, Neeraj Narwal, Saurabh Nandal, Aman
Manjeet Chillar is having a word with Rajneesh who was a revelation in attack for the Titans in an abysmal season last year. It’s a star-studded Titans side in the fray this time. How far can they go?
TALKING POINT: Ranadhir Singh Sehrawat is the only coach who has been at the helm of his franchise for every edition of the Pro Kabaddi League so far. Talk about faith.
HEAD-TO-HEAD | Matches: 19 | BB: 12 | TT:3 | Tie: 4
Bengaluru Bulls have met Telugu Titans in 19 matches. Out of these 19 matches, Bengaluru Bulls have been victorious on 12 occasions whereas Telugu Titans have won thrice. The other four games finished in ties.
Dabang Delhi’s title defence begins against a defensively solid U Mumba outfit. Can Naveen Kumar’s boys make short work of this U Mumba team without Fazel Atrachali? FIND OUT IN OUR LIVE BLOG.
Bengaluru Bulls will go up against Telugu Titans in their vivo Pro Kabaddi Season 9 opener. The Season 6 champions will be hoping that Vikash Kandola - their big money buy at the vivo Pro Kabaddi player auction - can come good after they bought him for ₹1.70 crores. A massive attacking threat when on song, Kandola is capable of singlehandedly changing the course of a match with his clinical raids. Kandola will have support from the likes of More G B and Neeraj Narwal in attack, while their defence boasts Saurabh Nandal, Mahender Singh and Aman, all of whom have previously been a part of the Bengaluru Bulls setup and know what is expected of them.
On the other hand, Telugu Titans will be confident about bagging an opening day win too and why shouldn’t they be considering the array of options they have in attack. With players like Ankit Beniwal, Rajnish, Siddharth Desai, Abhishek Singh and Monu Goyat in the team, it’s safe to say that they are spoilt for choices as far as raiders are concerned. A glance at their defence also reveals that they have a collection of proven vivo Pro Kabaddi defenders within their ranks. Players like Vishal Bhardwaj, Parvesh Bhainswal, Surjeet Singh and Ravinder Pahal make for a star-studded defence that opposition raiders definitely won’t fancy going up against.
Where can you watch Bengaluru Bulls vs Telugu Titans PKL 9?
Pro Kabaddi Season 9 will be telecast live on the Star Sports Network and Disney+ Hotstar from 7:30 PM onwards on Friday
