The Bengal Warriors registered a comfortable 35-29 win over the Bengaluru Bulls in the 1000th Pro Kabaddi League match on Monday night at Sawai Mansingh Stadium. With a much-needed win, Bengal Warriors have moved up to the 6th spot (38 points) in the table while the Bulls have slid down to 9th place with 32 points under their belt. The Warriors’ captain Maninder Singh scored 9 points for his side, while defender Shubham Shinde collected 7 tackle points. Bharat was the lone star for the Bulls with 6 Raid points and 4 Bonus points.
Bharat secured several raid points early on and helped the Bulls to claim a 5-2 lead in the fifth minute of the game. But Maninder executed a double-point raid to reduce the points gap, removing Bharat and Surjeet Singh. However, the Bulls maintained a 9-7 lead by the 12th minute. Warriors’ defenders Shubham Shinde and Jaskirat Singh rose to the occasion and scored tackle points to tie the game 11-11 in the 16th minute.
Moments later, Nitin Kumar removed Saurabh Nandal and Neeraj Narwal, allowing the Warriors to inflict an All-out and grab a comfortable 15-11 lead. Shubham and Maninder continued to dominate in the defensive and raiding aspects as the Warriors led 19-12 at halftime. Bharat carried out a successful raid, and Surjeet tackled Maninder in the opening minutes of the second half. Despite some good efforts from the Bulls’ players, the Warriors found a way to maintain their advantage of 19-16. But the Bulls produced an All-out soon, closing the gap and taking the lead at 21-20 in the 28th minute.
However, Shubham’s successful tackle on Bharat kept the Warriors in the game, trailing 23-24 in the 31st minute. The Warriors capitalized on the momentum and went on to inflict an All-out in the 37th minute of the game, grabbing a comfortable lead. Maninder completed another double-point raid late in the game, helping the Warriors seal a clinical victory.
Later in the day, Jaipur Pink Panthers defeated U Mumba by a razor-thin margin of 31-29 to stay at the top of the points table. Arjun Deshwal (11 points) led the Panthers to their third consecutive home victory, extending their winning streak to five. Guman Singh starred for U Mumba with a Super 10. In today’s (January 16) match Tamil Thalaivas will face Patna Pirates at the SMS Indoor Stadium. This game is expected to be an intense battle as both teams eye returning to winning ways.
