Bengaluru Bulls vs Tamil Thalaivas: Pawan Sehrawat out-in a masterclass yet again as Bengaluru Bulls got their campaign back on track. The raider was the star for home side Bengaluru Bulls as they beat arch-rivals Tamil Thalaivas 33-27 in the ‘Southern derby’ of VIVO Pro Kabaddi League’s ‘Rivalry Week’. The ‘high flying’ raider secured another Super 10 (17 raid points) as a complete performance from the season 6 winners helped them clinch their first home win of the season against a dis-jointed Thalaiavas unit in front of a packed audience at the Sree Kanteerava Stadium in Bengaluru. As a result, the Bulls have now risen to 3rd spot in the table.
A closely contested first half saw both teams matching each other in all departments. Bengaluru captain Rohit Kumar started the proceedings with a classic ‘Dubki’ taking out of Ajay Thakur and Mohit Chhillar. At the other side, Rahul Chaudhari looked ominous with his raids, despite wasting a review on a Bonus Point. The defenders slowly got into the game as the half progressed, though, with Amit Sheoran and Mahender Singh stepping up their game with confidence-boosting tackles. Manjeet Chhillar and Mohit Chhillar looked in good form too, despite two silly errors by the former allowing easy points for Rohit Kumar. The first half ended with scores 14-13 in favour of the home side.
Bengaluru upped their game in the second half with Pawan Sehrawat becoming more influential. A Super Tackle by Mohit Sehrawat in the third minute of the second half, followed by a two-point raid by Pawan opened up a 4-point lead for the Bulls. But yet again, the team with the higher numbers could not force an All-Out, with Ajith Kumar coming in to pull off an important raid to keep the Tamil Thalaivas alive. The Chennai-based unit inched closer to the Bulls when Sagar and Mohit Chhillar produced two Super Tackles. But Pawan Sehrawat had other plans for the Tamil defence and his multi-point raids finally lead to an All-Out for Thalaivas with just four minutes remaining in the match. The 7-point cushion the All-Out offered was all that the Bulls defence (marshalled by Amit Sheoran who secured a High 5) wanted as the champions saw out the final minutes to clinch an important win at home and move to third in the points table.
Bengaluru Bulls vs Tamil Thalaivas Top Performers
Bengaluru Bulls:
Best Raider – Pawan Kumar Sehrawat (17 Raid Points)
Best Defender – Amit Sheoran (5 Tackle Points)
Tamil Thalaivas:
Best Raider – Rahul Chaudhari (7 Raid Points)
Best Defender – Manjeet Chhillar (4 Tackle Points)
