Pro Kabaddi: Bengal Warriors trump unsettled UP Yoddha 40-20

BENGAL WARRIORS beat unsettled UP Yoddha 40-20 to mark their second win of the season and also recorded highest winning margin of the ongoing season. It was disappointing and an upsetting day for the UP Yoddha as skipper Nitin Tomar had to be subbed off early in the game after a minor ankle injury. 

A Rishank Devadiga-less UP unit started off cautiously with their defence as well as raids. Successful raids from both sides saw scores level at 2-2 after two minutes into the game. However, Bengal attack in Maninder Singh, Vinod Kumar and Jang Kun Lee went all guns blazing to inflict the first All-Out on UP in the 8th minute. 

Senior defenders Ran Singh and Surjeet Singh did a fine job with their holds and body dashes to keep Mahesh Goud and Surender Singh at bay. The Warriors kept scoring on the raids as UP continually failed to convert their do-or-die raid chances. Subsequently, Bengal unleashed another All-Out on the Yoddha in the 19th minute.

UP suffered another blow before the half time whistle as skipper Nitin Tomar had to be substituted with Santhosh B.S. following an ankle injury. The first half ended at 22-8, with the Warriors in a comfortable 14-point lead. Desperate to make a comeback, the Yoddhas brought on Hadi Tajik and Rohit Kumar only to suffer third All-Out of the match. Bengal's dominance caused 34-12 as Vinod Kumar continued to outmuscle the young UP corner defenders. 

In the 39th minute, Bengal star all-rounder Ran Singh picked up a High 5 to make scores 40-18. Yoddhas scored two points to reduce their deficit and succumb to their first defeat of the season.

Bengal Warriors starting 7:

Raider: Maninder Singh 
Defender: Surjeet Singh
Defender: Rahul Kumar
Raider: Jang Kun Lee
Raider: Vinod Kumar
All Rounder: Shrikant Tewthia
All Rounder: Ran Singh

Substitutes:

Defender: Young Chang Ko
All Rounder: Bhupender Singh
Raider: Deepak Narwal
All Rounder: Ravindra Ramesh Kumawat
Raider: Kuldeep

UP Yoddha starting 7:

Raider: Nitin Tomar
All Rounder: Rajesh Narwal
Defender: Jeeva Kumar
Raider: Surender Singh 
Raider: Mahesh Goud
Defender: Nitesh Kumar
All Rounder: Pankaj

Substitutes:

Defender: Hadi Tajik
All Rounder: Sagar Krishna
Defender: Santosh B.S
Defender: Rohit Kumar
Raider: Rishank Devadiga

Le Panga: 

Vinod Kumar: The Bengal all-rounder looked in great form against the UP unit. Courtesy of his all-round performance, Vinod picked 8 points in the game. Out of his 10 raids, he scored 6 points and was unsuccessful is none of them. He spent most of his time on the mat before getting substituted in the dying minutes.

Ran Singh: The veteran all-rounder was rock-solid in his defence. The absence of Rishank Devadiga and Nitin Tomar made his job a tad bit easier as he scored a brilliant High 5. Ran Singh, who is the most experienced member of the squad, displayed strong ankle and thigh holds against the likes of Surender Singh and Rajesh Narwal. 

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