PKL 2018, Warriors v Thalaivas: Jang Kun Lee's Super-10 leads the Warriors to a win in their first home game
The Bengal Warriors kicked off their home leg with a 27-24 win over the Tamil Thalaivas at the Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose Indoor Stadium in Kolkata.
The hosts started strong as they led 3-2 but were soon facing a deficit as a four-point raid from Sukesh Hegde saw the Thalaivas ease into the lead. However, that lead was soon quelled by a super raid from Jang Kun Lee as the Korean equalized scores in the seventh minute.
Yet, it was a story of the raiders making merry in the opening half as the hosts picked up just three tackle points while the Thalaivas had two to their credit as the two teams shared honors with the scores on 15-15 at the break.
The hosts started with four men on the mat and were soon down to two men before a super tackle from Jang Kun Lee on Ajay Thakur swung the momentum in favor of the Warriors. With ten minutes left on the clock and both the teams opting for a cautious approach, the Warriors enjoyed only a slender one-point lead.
With a little under two minutes left on the clock, skipper Surjeet Singh picked his first tackle point with a block on Ajay Thakur as the hosts raced away to a four-point lead that also saw the Thalaivas left with just three men on the mat.
In the end, the Warriors played out the clock as the Bengal Warriors cruised away to a 27-24 win against the Tamil Thalaivas. Korean Jang Kun Lee was the star of the show with a 'Super-10' while left corner Ran Singh picked up four points.
Here are the player ratings from this game.
Tamil Thalaivas
Ajay Thakur - 6/10
The Thalaivas' skipper was happy to tack the backseat in the first half as he picked up only two points at the beginning of the game before letting Sukesh Hegde and Athul MS do the bulk of raiding. In the second half, the Thalaivas skipper picked up two vital points to finish with five points in all.
Sukesh Hegde - 7.5/10
Sukesh Hegde produced a magical four-point super raid early in the first half and added three more points to finish the opening half with seven points. In the second half, he added two more points and ended one-point shy of a 'Super-10'.
Athul MS - 5/10
The lanky raider used his height to good effect and collected two important points but his effectiveness on the Do or Die raids stood out in the first half.
C Arun - 6/10
The cover defender was not in the best of form as he made a few expensive dashes that gifted Maninder Singh some easy points. Yet, he made a comeback in the second half to pick up two points, including a colossal dash on Jang Kun Lee.
Amit Hooda - 4/10
Hooda was unlike his regular self as he was often caught off-guard by Jang Kun Lee's kicks and toe touches.
Sunil - 3/10
Thalaivas' left corner had a very quiet game as Sunil made three unsuccessful tackles to finish off the game with a dismal show.
P Subramaniam - 5.5/10
Subramaniam was quite often the target for Maninder Singh but the right cover did well to dash out the raider on one occasion as well. The cover defender finished with two points from the game.
SUBSTITUTES
D Pradap - 3/10
The youngster stepped in for the lone Do or Die raid and was pinned down by an ankle hold from Ran Singh on the left corner.