Nivas’s gamble fails, Bulls prevail

August 26, 2014 11:49 pm | Updated 11:49 pm IST - BANGALORE:

Telugu Titans’ Deepak Nivas rolled the dice on the final raid of the match, but it was Bengaluru Bulls which hit the jackpot.

With the score tied at 26, Nivas thought it prudent to attempt a touch.

However, the four Bulls anti-raiders — led by Manjit Chillar — had other ideas. A suplex takedown gave the host a last-gasp victory, and Nivas got an earful from his irate coach, Rajnarain Sharma.

The win kept the Bulls in the hunt for a semifinal spot in the ProKabaddi League here on Tuesday.

If the Bulls lose their final league fixture — against table-topper Jaipur Pink Panthers on Wednesday — by eight points or less, they will progress to the last-four stage. Only a 10-point margin of defeat will bring the Titans into contention.

Cautious approach

The start of this crucial contest was marked by a cautious approach from both ends.

A raid from the Bulls’ Dharmaraja Cheralathan, which resulted in a lona, swung the match the host’s way as it led 11-4.

A few minutes into the second-half, it was Titans which effected an all-out, bringing the scores level at 18.

A see-saw battle ensued, with both teams exchanging successful raids.

It all boiled down to the last raid to separate the two evenly-matched sides, and it was the Bulls which had the last laugh.

The results:

On Tuesday: Bengaluru Bulls 27 (Ajay Thakur 5, Manjit Chillar 3) bt Telugu Titans 26 (Sukesh Hegde 8, Rahul Chaudhari 4).

On Monday: Patna Pirates 33 (Ravi Dalal 8, Mandeep Kumar 4) bt Bengaluru Bulls 31 (Deepak Kumar 8, Ajay Thakur 6).

0 / 0
Sign in to unlock member-only benefits!
  • Access 10 free stories every month
  • Save stories to read later
  • Access to comment on every story
  • Sign-up/manage your newsletter subscriptions with a single click
  • Get notified by email for early access to discounts & offers on our products
Sign in

Comments

Comments have to be in English, and in full sentences. They cannot be abusive or personal. Please abide by our community guidelines for posting your comments.

We have migrated to a new commenting platform. If you are already a registered user of The Hindu and logged in, you may continue to engage with our articles. If you do not have an account please register and login to post comments. Users can access their older comments by logging into their accounts on Vuukle.