Kolkata: Bengal Warriors crashed to yet another defeat as they lost to Bengaluru Bulls 25-27 in the fourth season of the Pro Kabaddi League here at the Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose Indoor Stadium last evening. With this defeat Bengal Warriors hopes of making to the playoffs have all but disappeared.
Rohit Kumar scored eight points and Ashish Kumar scored seven points to lay the foundation of a crucial win for Bengaluru Bulls.
Both teams needed a win to keep their playoffs hope alive and it was the Bulls who came out on top. Bengaluru Bulls remain sixth in the table with 26 points from 12 games whereas Bengal Warriors’ sorry run continued and they’re now in seventh spot with 21 points from 12 games.
Yogesh Hooda opened Bengaluru Bulls’ account in the first minute to give his team a 1-0 lead.
Nitin Madane responded with a raid for Bengal Warriors in the second minute. It was a cagey start but Bengal Warriors looked better team and raced into 5-2 lead after eight minutes. Bengaluru Bulls made a comeback to tie the game at 5-5 after 10 minutes.
Bengal Warriors defence led by Vishal Mane scored two points as they led 10-5 after 15 minutes with Jang Kun Lee scoring two points. Bengal Warriors inflicted an all out in 16th minute as they opened an eight-point gap to lead 13-5.
Bengaluru Bulls put together a small run and scored three points but their star man Rohit Kumar was struggling as they trailed 8-13 in the 20th minute. Bengal Warriors ended the first half leading 15-8.
Jang Kun Lee began the first half with a successful raid in the 21st minute but Rohit Kumar scored three raid points with three raids as Bulls trailed 12-16 after 24 minutes. Both defences struggled to garner points and Bengaluru Bulls played on bonus points to trail 15-19 after 31 minutes. Bengal Warriors edged ahead 22-16 in 34th minute as Monu Goyat scored with a two-point raid.
Rohit Kumar had a quiet game by his standards and scored just two raid points in 35 minutes. Bengal Warriors led 23-18 after 36 minutes but Bengaluru Bulls forced a super tackle to cut the lead to just three points. It was anyone’s game with three minutes to go as Bengaluru Bulls sent Jang Kun Lee to the bench trailing 21-23.
With two minutes to go, Bengaluru Bulls scored with a quick raid to cut the lead to just two points. Ashish Kumar made a crucial tackle in the last minute as Bengaluru Bulls trailed 23-24.
The onus fell on Rohit Kumar to score and he duly delivered in the last minute as he scored with a super raid with less than 30 seconds on the clock to give Bulls 26-24 lead. One moment of brilliance from Rohit Kumar changed the course of the game as Bengaluru Bulls won 27-25 in the end.
(ANI)