Pro Kabaddi 2019: 3 reasons why Bengal Warriors won the title
The 3-month long journey of the seventh edition of Pro Kabaddi League, which had kickstarted on the 20th of July, wrapped up on the 19th of October after Bengal Warriors demolished Dabang Delhi to get their names etched on the coveted PKL trophy for the first time.
The intense clash witnessed Delhi starting well, but they eventually ended up losing the lead by the end of the first half. On the other hand, despite not having their star player Maninder Singh, the Warriors made a strong comeback in the match to snatch the lead.
The second half saw Delhi trailing throughout as their defense surprisingly made quite a few rookie errors. The Warriors, on the other hand, grew stronger as the match progressed. Mohammad Nabibakhsh, the Warriors' Iranian all-rounder, who was playing his debut season of the league, was the most impressive player from their team.
Let's now see what helped the Warriors clinch their maiden trophy of PKL:
#3 The Warriors didn't let Maninder Singh's absence affect them
In Bengal Warriors' league face-off with Dabang Delhi, star player Maninder Singh had suffered a shoulder injury, which prevented him from playing in the semi-finals against U Mumba.
Right when everyone thought that U Mumba had the upper hand due to Singh's absence, the Warriors stunned everyone by annihilating the Mumbai-based franchise to enter the final.
Kabaddi fans and experts both gave Delhi the edge as almost everyone underestimated the Bengal-based franchise.
Singh, who still didn't recover from his injury, informed everyone about his inability to play in the grand finale. He also told fans about him taking the responsibility of the assistant coach as he wanted to be there for his team on the mat.
The Warriors didn't start well against Delhi, but as the clock ticked, they gradually gained back the lost confidence and began picking up points without a break.
Singh, who wanted nothing more than to play, was seen reassuring his team on multiple occasions from the bench. Had the Warriors let all the pre-match talk get into their heads, they wouldn't have been able to lift that shining trophy.