PKL 2018, Bengal Warriors vs Bengaluru Bulls: Maninder's Super 10 keeps Warriors in hunt of top spot
The second match of the night saw a clash between two top sides in the Zone B of PKL 2018 as the home side Bengal Warriors took to the mat against Bengaluru Bulls at the Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose Indoor Stadium in Kolkata.
Bengal Warriors hoped to keep the pressure on the table toppers Bengaluru Bulls with a win on home turf and stay on course for a shot at going atop the table. The Bengaluru Bulls, on the other hand, aimed to get their first win over the Warriors in three attempts this season and secure the top spot in Zone B.
The first half of the match was a closely fought affair as the two sides played on their raiding strength to get points on the board. The Bengal Warriors were struggling in defence as Pawan Kumar Sehrawat targeted the experienced duo of Ran Singh and Surjeet Singh to sneak in raid points. Maninder Singh and Jang Kun Lee did fairly well to keep the Warriors in touching distance on the scoreboard. The first half ended in favour of the Bengaluru Bulls with the score at 15-12.
The second half started with the Bengaluru Bulls inflicting the first all-out of the match in four minutes to take a decent lead. However, the Warriors recovered well and fought well to keep the scores tight and got the all-out in the 35th minute of the match to take a small lead over the Bulls. Maninder Singh proved to be the difference as a five-point Super Raid wiped out the defence of the Bulls setting up another all-out. Bengal Warriors held on to their advantage and got their third win over the Bengaluru Bulls this season with a 37-31 win.
Bengal Warriors
Ran Singh - (5/10)
The Bengal Warriors skipper had a tough time in the first half against Pawan Kumar Sehrawat conceding touch point on the left corner. He scored four points on the night with three tackle points and had one raid point as well.
Ziaur Rehman - (3/10)
The cover defender from Bangladesh operated alongside Surjeet Singh and was unable to score any tackle point in the first half and was benched towards the end.
Surjeet Singh - (4/10)
The experienced right cover defender was targeted on multiple occasions by the Bengaluru Bulls' raiding duo and conceded five raid points in the first half itself. He had a better second half doing well to pick up a couple of tackle points in the end.
Baldev Singh - (3/10)
The young right corner Baldev Singh was a bit hasty in his tackle attempts managing just one tackle in four chances in the match.
Ravindra Ramesh Kumawat - (2/10)
The all-rounder was substituted out after just one raid in the first half as he looked to be uncomfortable after a strong tackle by the Bulls' defenders.
Maninder Singh - (9/10)
The star man of the Bengal Warriors lineup managed four points in the first half getting tackled just once and was kept quiet. However, he sprung into form in the second half scoring 12 points including a five-point Super Raid to take the game away from the Bulls.
Jang Kun Lee - (6/10)
The Korean international raider achieved a milestone in his Pro Kabaddi League career scoring his 400th raid point as he scored five raid points in the first half at crucial junctures. He finished with a tally of seven points in the end of the match.
Substitutes
Amit Nagar - (3/10)
The all-rounder replaced Ravindra Ramesh Kumawat in the lineup and managed one tackle point in the second half but did not have any raid point.