Bengal Warriors go up against Bengaluru Bulls in the Star Sports Pro Kabaddi League on Wednedsay at the Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose Indoor Stadium in Kolkata.
The tournament, featuring 8 teams, shall shift to the city of Kolkata for this week. Home team, Bengal Warriors will want to open their account against the Bengaluru Bulls; however quite a challenge lies ahead for the boys from Bengal.
Bengaluru Bulls have been in very good form throughout this tournament as they have won both their games. At this point they are second in the points table behind U Mumba. Furthermore the team from Bangalore have two games in hand. The team have a very good captain in Manjit Chillar. The skipper has been in good form with 16 points in two games.
In their first encounter the Bulls had their tails up as they tore Delhi Dabang apart. They attacked as if there was no tomorrow as the 47-28 scoreline in the Bengaluru Bulls' favour duly reflected.
The second game saw Chillar's boys do well to come from a two-point deficit in the first half and triumph against Puneri Paltan. The Bulls had started well in his match but soon conceded a lead of two points.
Ajay Thakur was the key for Bengaluru as his attacking displays, after they had given away a lead. Puneri Paltan hit back late in the game but by then Bengaluru had taken too much of a lead. In the end the scoreline was 40-37 for Bengaluru.
Thakur's form will be crucial in the game against Bengal Warriors. His team will to be looking to him to come up with the goods once again. The Bulls will hope that Chillar will lead from the front. At this juncture they appear very confident.
"We have made a good start as all our players are in good form. We are combining well as a team and picking up crucial points," The Hindu quoted Rajesh Mondal as saying.
Bengal Warriors have only played one game so far, which they lost against the top-of-the-table U Mumba. They had done well in the first half in that game as there was only one point separating the boys from Bengal and U Mumba. Thereafter they lost their way completely as U Mumba went on the offensive. Bengal could do little about the match from there on. On Wednesday, in front of their home fans, they have the opportunity to put on a better show.
Nilesh Shinde is the captain of this outfit. He would dearly love to be on the winners' side this time around.
"We played well but lost the momentum in the later stages of the first match. We will look to consolidate on home turf. We hope to get good home support to turn things our way here," Shinde said.
Where to Watch Live:
Bengal Warriors play the Bengaluru Bulls at 8-00 pm. Star Sports will air the match. Live coverage will comence on Star Sports HD 2 from 7-45 pm. This is the link for the Live Streaming option Star sports.com.
