ProKabaddi: Warriors ride on Maninder’s shoulders

The Bengal skipper’s raids prove decisive in the contest against Titans

September 25, 2019 10:42 pm | Updated 10:42 pm IST - JAIPUR

Pulling away: Warriors captain Maninder Singh proved unstoppable against Titans.

Pulling away: Warriors captain Maninder Singh proved unstoppable against Titans.

Maninder Singh led from the front, achieving a personal milestone and single-handedly dragging his team past the finish line as Bengal Warriors edged past Telugu Titans 40-39 to go to the top of the table in the seventh season of the ProKabaddi League here on Wednesday.

It was the second consecutive one-point win for Warriors, Maninder scoring a whopping 17 of his team’s points and going past 150 touch points for the season, stepping forward every time his team was in trouble.

He first changed the game by failing a raid but taking three defenders out with him in the 14th minute and then effecting an all-out two raids later. Every time Titans managed to win a point, Maninder would hit back with two of his own.

With a well-rounded defence led by veteran Jeeva Kumar that kept the pressure on the opposition, his attacks made all the difference.

Siddharth Desai tried gamely to counter Maninder’s challenge, scoring 15 points, but despite his best attempts — including a super raid and an all-out of his own — found his team falling short in defence.

Titans, in fact, scored five more raid points than Warriors, most of them coming in the last 90 seconds, but it was too late.

Contrasting scenario

While Warriors have already comfortably qualified for the playoffs, Titans continue to languish in the penultimate spot, with its playoff hopes all but over.

The second match saw Jaipur Pink Panthers start tentatively but race ahead to a comfortable 43-34 win against Puneri Paltan. Panthers, who remained in the seventh spot, still have a chance of qualifying.

The results: Bengal Warriors 40 (Maninder Singh 17, Sukesh Hegde 5) bt Telugu Titans 39 (Siddharth Desai 15, Rajnish 6, Rakesh Gowda 5, Abozar Mohajermighani 5); Jaipur Pink Panthers 43 (Deepak Hooda 12, Deepak Narwal 11, Nilesh Salunke 7) bt Puneri Paltan 34 (Pankaj Mohite 14, Manjeet 8) .

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