Pro Kabaddi League 2018: Bengal Warriors edge past Bengaluru Bulls; Puneri Paltan, Jaipur Pink Panthers play out thrilling tie

Pune: In a close contest, Bengal Warriors held their nerves to edge out Bengaluru Bulls 33-31 in a Pro Kabaddi League (PKL) match in Pune on Friday. Bengal’s Maninder Singh had an excellent game and scored 14 points, while Mahesh Goud was a fine supporting act for Singh as he chipped in with 6 crucial raid points. Pawan Sehrawat got yet another super 10 for Bengaluru Bulls but his effort went in vain. Bengaluru Bulls’ defence was the biggest reason for their downfall as they could muster just three tackle points in the match. [caption id=“attachment_5607591” align=“alignleft” width=“380”] Bengaluru Bulls lost their first home game against Bengal Warriors in the Pro Kabaddi League. Image Courtesy: PKL[/caption] Rohit Kumar and Maninder Singh got a couple of raid poinst each for their teams as both teams were neck to neck after three minutes of play. Mahesh Goud’s raid in the fourth minute gave Bengal a chance to level it at 4-4. In the 7th minute, Kashiling Adake made a successful raid to level the score at 6-6. There was little to separate the two teams as both refused to give an inch. Rohit made a two-point raid in the 13th minute to give Bengaluru Bulls little breathing space as they led 11-9. Bengal fought back as they inflicted an all out in the 15th minute to lead 13-11. It was a closely fought encounter but Bengal went into the break holding a four point lead with the score reading 18-14 in their favour. Maninder Singh continued his fine raiding form with a point at the start of the second half. He followed it up with a two-point raid in the 23rd minute as Bengal led 23-15. Bengaluru fought back in the next few minutes as they cut the deficit to five points in the 29th minute. Pawan came with a moment of brilliance as his two-point raid led to an all out and Bengaluru Bulls tied the match at 26-26 in the 33rd minute. In the next minute, Maninder responded with a super raid to give Bengal 29-26 lead. The last five minutes were a tense affair but Bengal refused to panic. Kashiling got two raid points in the last couple of minutes of the match to keep Bengaluru within touching distance. It was Maninder yet again, who scored a raid point in the 38th minute to give Bengal Warriors 33-28 lead as they were assured of full points in the match. Bengaluru picked three points in the dying moments but fell short narrowly to lose the contest. Pune, Jaipur play out thrilling tie Puneri Paltan and Jaipur Pink Panthers played out a thrilling 30-30 tie in Pro Kabaddi League. Jaipur Pink Panthers would rue several missed opportunities as they were in the lead for majority of the match. Puneri Paltan put up a strong show in the second half but missed a chance in the last minute to win the match. Deepak Niwas Hooda was the star man for Jaipur as he scored 12 points. Girish Ernak was the defender of the match as he scored six tackle points for Puneri Paltan. GB More and Anup Kumar scored a raid point each as Jaipur Pink Panthers led 2-0 in the first minute. Puneri Paltan forced a super tackle in the fourth minute as they trailed 3-4. Another tackle point in the 7th minute by Pune leveled the match at 5-5. Jaipur Pink Panthers scored a couple of raid and tackle points to open up a four-point gap to lead 9-5 after 10 minutes. An all out in the 12th minute gave Jaipur 13-7 lead as they were looking the better and fitter side on the mat. Deepak Hooda got in a couple of successful raids as at the end of the first half Jaipur Pink Panthers led 17-10. Puneri Paltan made a strong start to the second half as they forced a super tackle in the 22nd minute to trail 13-18. Puneri Paltan inflicted an all out in the 25th minute as they came right back into the match to trail 18-19. Deepak Hooda scored with a two-point raid to give Jaipur Pink Panthers 22-18 lead. Puneri Paltan’s defence tightened the noose on Jaipur Pink Panthers raiders as they mounted a sensational comeback. In the 31st minute Pune first cut the lead to just one point and Deepak Dahiya leveled the match at 25-25 in the 32nd minute. It was a tense affair in the last five minutes as both teams stood a chance of winning the match. With less than three minutes to go it was all square at 28-28. Deepak Niwas Hooda made a successful raid in the 40th minute to tie the match for Jaipur Pink Panthers. With inputs from PTI