The Bengaluru Bulls registered a convincing 37-24 win against the Bengal Warriors in the Pro Kabaddi League at the Kanteerava Indoor Stadium in Bangalore on Sunday.
The Bulls needed to win this game against the Warriors to stay in the hunt to make it to the semifinals. The home side did not disappoint their fans, who were pretty vociferous in their support. The boys from Bangalore, however, still trail the Telugu Titans and the Patna Pirates who are in third and fourth place respectively in the standings. The good news for them is that they have reduced the difference in points and also have two games in hand.
Heading into the game the boys from Bangalore were the clear favourites against the Bengal Warriors. In addition to this, the Bulls had everything to play for and showed they meant business. The Bengal Warriors, though only playing for pride, showed that they would not be pushovers. In the first half they played in a determined manner not letting the Bulls race ahead.
The Bulls made it clear that they wanted to dominate the game right from the start. They mounted early raids as they took a four-point lead when the first timeout took place. The score at this stage stood 7-3 in the Bulls' favour.
The boys from Bengal, however, showed they were here to compete. They soon struck back and levelled the score. They were also defending well as they thwarted the Bulls' star raider Ajay Thakur. This phase, however, was not to last long for the Bengal Warriors as the home side quickly hit back to seize the lead again. As halftime came the Bulls led 14-12.
Bengaluru, at this point, realised that they needed to take the game by the scruff of the neck and see to it that the boys from Bengal would have no further opportunities to stage a comeback in the game. They came out more determined than ever and it was star raider Thakur who led the way. He mounted successful raids and in the process increased the difference in points between the two sides.
The raid where he went after his opposite number Jang Kun Lee and pushed him down onto the ground and scored three points particularly stood out. At this juncture, the score stood at 23-15 in the Bulls' favour. The Bulls went on to dominate further and came away with a comprehensive 37-24 win in the end.
Points Table--
1] Jaipur Pink Panthers -- 53 points
2] U Mumba -- 46 points
3]Telugu Titans -- 41 points
4] Patna Pirates -- 40 points
5] Bengaluru Bulls -- 36 points
6] Dabang Delhi -- 27 points
7] Bengal Warriors -- 24 points
8] Puneri Paltan -- 16 points
