The Pro Kabaddi League’s ninth-season playoffs are less than two weeks away, and the fight for the top six is getting intense. In two such battles, Bengaluru Bulls and Tamil Thalivas shined at Gachibowli Indoor Stadium on Sunday with their respective win against Dabang Delhi and Gujarat Titans. With the victory, the Bulls have further distanced themselves from the third-place Jaipur Pink Panther, while the Thalivas have made a jump to the fifth position in the Pro Kabaddi League standings.
Bengaluru Bulls registered a thrilling 52-49 win against Dabang Delhi K.C.
Dabang Delhi had a great start to the game, taking the lead within the first 10 minutes and forcing an early All-Out on the Bulls as the scoreboard read 13-7 in the capital city’s advantage. The Dabang came back and forced a second All-Out with five minutes left in the half to take a commanding 13-point advantage. After then, Dabang Delhi K.C. attempted to keep up the pace, but the Bulls mounted a valiant comeback to reduce the gap to 25-16 at the half.
In the opening minutes of the second half, Dabang Delhi K.C. mimicked the first-half performance by scoring some quick points through a balanced-out effort on both the offensive and defensive ends, which allowed them to inflict a third All-Out on the Bengaluru Bulls to regain a 10-point advantage. The Bengaluru Bulls, on the other hand, once more fought back, inflicting an All-Out on the country’s capital and cutting the deficit to just three points.
With only three minutes remaining in the game, both teams made shrewd decisions, going for bonus points on each occasion to keep the scoreboard moving and forcing the other to play catch-up. The game’s final minutes were marked by intensity, action, and excitement as the scores finally shifted in the Bulls’ favor. Bengaluru’s star raider Bharat tied down Delhi’s defenders in the final seconds before inflicting another All-Out to take a 51-46 lead. The Bulls held on to the lead for the rest of the match and sealed the deal with a 52-49 victory.
With a whopping 23 points, Bengaluru’s star raider Bharat stood out as the team’s best performer, and defender Mahender Singh contributed four tackle points to the tally. On the other hand, Vishal excelled as Delhi’s best defender with 5 tackle points, while Vijay Malik stood out as Dabang Delhi’s best player with 14 raid points. On Wednesday, November 30, Bengaluru will play the Pink Panthers to keep up their recent success, while Delhi will face yet another difficult opponent when they take on the in-form Tamil Thalivas.
Tamil Thalivas bested the Gujrat Giants
Early on, Thalaivas’ Narender scored a handful of raid points, giving the side a 6-2 lead within the fifth minute. Narender continued to showcase top form and kept reducing Gujrat’s members on the mat to extend the lead to 10-4. Moments later, Gujrat pulled off a magnificent comeback and inflicted an all-out to stay alive in the game. The team kept up its tempo and put Thalivas under pressure to take a 17-15 lead.
However, Thalaivas came back in the second half to score multiple tackle points and relieve the pressure. At the stroke of halftime, the Thalaivas had a grasp on the game with a score of 24-20 thanks to the continued success of Ajinkya Pawar and Narender’s raids. The Thalaivas seized the initiative right away and forced an All-Out to take a commanding 30-22 lead in the game.
After that, raider Chandran Ranjit and Parteek Dahiya stepped up for the team and dramatically flipped the script in Gujrat’s favour. Gujrat capitalized on the momentum and scored a flurry of points in raids to come extremely close to tying Thalaivas’ advantage at 36-38 in the 39th minute. Despite Gujrat’s valiant efforts, Thalivas eventually finished the game with a thrilling victory thanks to two spectacular raids executed by Ajinkya Pawar in the waning seconds.
Raider Narendra emerged as the best player for Thalaivas with 13 points, while his fellow teammate Arpit Saroha chipped in with 3 tackle points in the match. Both players spoiled the efforts of Parteek Dahiya who secured another super ten with a total of 10 raid points in the match.