Bulls too good for Thalaivas, posts huge victory

CHENNAI: Tamil Thalaivas suffered its third defeat of the Pro Kabaddi League Season 9 as it went down 28-45 to southern rival Bengaluru Bulls at the Kanteerava Indoor Stadium in Bengaluru on Wednesday.

Thalaivas remained in the hunt until the half-hour mark, but Bulls ran away with the match in the final 10 minutes. Bharat (12 points – 11 raid points and 1 tackle point) and Vikash Kandola (7 raid points) were the chief contributors for Bengaluru, which inflicted three ‘All Outs’ – one in the first half and two in the second period.

Youngsters Narender (10 points – 9 raid points and 1 tackle point) and Himanshu Singh (8 raid points) continued their good form, but their efforts were not enough on the night and the Tamil Nadu team’s defence failed to turn up.

Playing in front of its home crowd, BB began the match on a positive note and raced to a 6-3 lead. But, TT reduced the deficit to one point with a ‘Super Tackle’ in the seventh minute. However, a minute later, Bulls effected the first ‘All Out’, thanks to a ‘Super Raid’ by Bharat that was worth five points (3 tackle points and 2 for the clean sweep).

When the teams went for the break, Bengaluru held a six-point cushion with the scorecard reading 18-12. In the second half, Bulls picked up where it left off as it completed the second ‘All Out’ in the 27th minute. Courtesy of the clean sweep, BB was ahead by eight points (30-22) with 10 minutes left on the clock.

The ‘home’ team put the contest to bed in the 37th minute with its third and final ‘All Out’. As a result, Thalaivas could not even take home a solitary point from the defeat since the margin – 18 – was more than seven.

Ranjit leads Gujarat from the front

Earlier in the night, skipper Chandran Ranjit led Gujarat Giants from the front as his team defeated UP Yoddhas 51-45. The Tamil Nadu player racked up as many as 20 points (19 raid points and 1 tackle point), with the UP defensive unit unable to stop him at any point. Pardeep Narwal (17 raid points) and Surender Gill (14 raid points) weaved their magic, but had to end up on the losing side because of Ranjit and Rakesh’s (16 raid points) brilliance. Pro Kabaddi action will resume on Friday in Bengaluru as Thursday is a rest day for the franchises.

RESULTS: Bengaluru Bulls 45 bt Tamil Thalaivas 28; Gujarat Giants 51 bt UP Yoddhas 45