Bengaluru Bulls defeated the Telugu Titans 27-26 in a very close encounter in the Pro Kabaddi League in the Kanteerva Indoor Stadium on Tuesday.
This victory does not, however, assure the Bengaluru Bulls of a place in the semifinal. They needed to prevail over the Telugu Titans by more than two points.
Going into the match, both teams had a lot to play for and they gave it their all. The previous occasion these two teams had met the match had been a hard-fought draw. It seemed to be going that way but a failed gamble by the Titans in the end brought about their loss.
It was the boys from Vizag who had started the game well as they scored first. To add to this they were defending well too. Rajaguru Subramaniam and D Gopu thwarted the Bulls' Ajay Thakur when he tried to foray into the Titans' corner. The Bengaluru Bulls, however, would soon hit back.
The Bulls, needing to do something to get back on board, acquired LONA points in the 11th minute of the game. This set the Titans back as their famed attacking trio of Rahul Chaudhari, Deepak Nivas Hooda and Sukesh Hegde tried to hit back, but failed in their attempt to do so.
In the first half, the Bulls continued in this manner as they kept in scoring and thwarting the Titans' attack. Even Chaudhari was not being able to do much. As halftime came the Bulls were in the ascendancy as they led 17-10.
The Titans needed to hit back and do something fast otherwise the game was going to slip away from them. This was precisely what they did. They launched an all out attack. Hegde began with a raid and scored. Soon their star raider Chaudhari got into the act as he racked up four points. Then Gopu scored as the Titans and the Bulls were suddenly tied at 17 all.
The game continued in this vein as both sides refused to give an inch. It seemed another draw between these two sides was in the offing with the score at 25 apiece. Bulls' skipper Manjit Chillar, however, seemed to have other plans as he gave his side the lead.
The Titans, though, hit back with a point. At this stage the score was 26-26. Then Hooda took a chance by trying to breach the Bulls defence but failed and this cost his side a point and the match as the Bulls defenders cornered him and scored, giving their side the win.
Points Table
1] Jaipur Pink Panthers -- 53 points
2] U Mumba -- 46 points
3] Patna Pirates -- 45 points
4] Bengaluru Bulls -- 42 points
5] Telugu Titans -- 42 points
6] Dabang Delhi -- 32 points
7] Bengal Warriors -- 24 points
8] Puneri Paltan -- 16 points
