BENGALURU BULLS got back to its winning ways following a brilliant all-round performance against Bengal Warriors. Surjeet Singh-led Warriors suffered a 31-25 defeat at the Mankapur Indoor Complex at Nagpur.
Bulls skipper Rohit Kumar opened the account with a two-point raid in the first minute of the game. It was followed by an unsuccessful do-or-die raid from Vinod Kumar to makes scores 3-0 in Bengaluru's favor. Maninder Singh scored Bengal’s first point of the game and made scores 3-2. At the 10th minute, both teams were level at 5-5. It remained a close contest as both teams took little risks while defending.
After Jang Kun Lee’s successful raid in the 12 minute, Bengal Warriors lead 8-6 and were looking to inflict an All-Out on Bengaluru Bulls. However, skipper Rohit Kumar rose to the occasion and produce a Super Tackle to avert an All-Out. At half-time, Bulls lead 12-10.
The early minutes of the second half saw the Warriors earn back to back points to make scores level at 12-12. While another All-Out loomed large on Bulls, substitute Harish Naik scored two-points to avert one and lead 14-12 after 23 minutes. Courtesy of Jang Kun Lee’s successful raids, Bengal eventually effected an All-Out to lead 15-16 at the 24th minute.
With 15 minutes to go in the game, Vinod Kumar’s unsuccessful raid brought the scores level at 16-16. His raid was followed by Ajay Kumar, who made the most of Bengal’s defensive errors and scored a 4-point Super Raid to take Bengaluru’s lead to 20-16. Thereafter, Bengaluru took control of the game and effected an All-Out on Bengal to take a 24-18 lead.
With less than five minutes left on the clock, Warriors scored with a tackle point to trail 21-28. The Warriors reduced the deficit to five points in the 37th minute as they trailed 23-28. Bulls scored tackle points on Jang and Ran Singh to lead 30-23 in the next minute. The match ended 31-25 in favor of Bengaluru Bulls as they coasted to a comfortable victory.
Bengaluru Bulls starting 7:
All Rounder: Preetam Chhillar
All Rounder: Ashish Kumar
Defender: Mahender Singh
Raider: Ajay Kumar
Raider: Rohit Kumar
Defender: Ravinder Pahal
Defender: Sachin Kumar
Substitutes:
All Rounder: Sanjay Shreshta
Raider: Harish Naik
Defender: Pardeep Kandola
Defender: Kuldeep Singh
Raider: Sumit Singh
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
Le Panga:
Ajay Kumar: The Bulls’ premium raider was supposedly facing knee discomfort in his recent games. However, his performance against Bengal suggested no such thing. Ajay’s four-point raid came during a crucial juncture in the game and was decisive in extending Bulls’ lead. He remained Rohit Kumar’s go-to raider during do-or-die raids. Ajay finished the game with eight points from 19 raids.
Jang Kun Lee: Although the Korean spent a lot of time off the mat, he ended the game with eight points. Jang was lethal in picking crucial touch and bonus points. While key raiders Vinod and Maninder had a disappointing night, Jang stepped up to look after the raiding duties. Out of 15 raids, Jang scored eight points, which included three bonus points.
No Panga:
Maninder Singh: Prior to this game, the star raider had scored 17 points from 31 raids. Courtesy of agility and massive body strength, he was seen bulldozing through the Telugu and the UP defence line. However, he was kept silent by the Bengaluru defenders. Excluding the two points from his first successful raid, Maninder made no contribution in the rest of the match.