Bengaluru Bulls pulled off a last-gasp 24-23 win over Bengal Warriors in a ProKabaddi League encounter at the NSCI complex. Surender Nada as tackler and raider Rohit Kumar pulled the latter over the line.
Mohit Chillar struggled to justify his Rs.53 lakh price-tag for the Bulls in the first half but regained poise in the defence later to chip in with tackle-points.
Captain Nada made amends for his teammate at the back, coming up with a super-tackle. Rohit weighed in with seven raid points.
Warriors captain Nilesh Shinde made his presence felt in the right catcher position. Mohit, the army raider in the squad, returned from two forays without any point before getting caught third time. Bulls, under Nada’s leadership, kept pace with their rivals till 6-6.
The intensity of moves and counter-moves on the mat moved up a level as both teams got into the groove. Raiders supplied early excitement in both halves. Bulls’ Vinod Kumar leapt clear of the catcher, followed by a tumble.
South Korean Jang Kun Lee had a successful raid and three touch points and a bonus took his raid-points tally to four at half-time.
Bulls catchers closed in, but the raider remained in control, using both hands to hop towards the centre-line.
Careful work by the defence on both sides resulted in do-or-die raids bringing out the desperation in the player crossing into the rival half.
Rohit Kumar felt the pressure and got trapped on one such raid. Timeout was taken at 13-13 as coaches use every tactic to regain rhythm.
Warriors took a big step towards victory, up 21-13, sending out the entire Bulls team for the first time in the tie.
Mohit Goyat tried to slip out from the catchers’ grasp, resulting in the Bulls tacklers lifting him and flinging him to the mat.
The results: Bengaluru Bulls 24 (Rohit Kumar 7, Surender Nada 4, Mohit Chillar 3) bt Bengal Warriors 23 (Mohit Goyat 5, Jang Kun Lee 5, Nilesh Shinde 3, Girish 3).
