Bengaluru Bulls’ grit overpowers U Mumba in a close encounter
The TOUGHEST MOMENT OF THE MATCH – Pawan Sehrawat got rid of Fazel Atrachali in the 38th minute after Dong Geon Lee went out of bounds, leaving just one man on the mat for U Mumba
Riding on a terrific raid performance by ‘Hi-Flyer’ Pawan Sehrawat, Bengaluru Bulls beat U Mumba by 30-26. The match was built as the battle between the “Hi-Flyer” Pawan Sehrawat and Fazel “Sultan” Atrachali and it was the raider who came out on top.
The home-side displayed a strong performance in their home stadium against Puneri Paltan and was more than ready to face Bengaluru Bulls, against whom they have their second best record with 10 victories. ‘Hi-Flyer’ Pawan Sehrawat got a Super 10 and single-handedly flipped the table for Bengaluru Bulls as they sneaked their way through victory against home team U Mumba. Strong performance by U Mumba’s Arjun Deshwal and Fazel “Sultan” Atrachali went in vain as some unforced errors towards the end caused them the match.
Things started to even-out when the previous match’s super-sub Arjun Deshwal from U Mumba was called out of bounds after a review by Bengaluru. Bengaluru took the lead by the 11th minute when Fazel Atrachali’s men covered the lead by the 14th minute. ‘Hi-Flyer’ Pawan Sehrawat got his 300th raid point in the form of a sneaky back kick on Fazel Atrachali. The game continued to shift from one team to the other as the first-half ended with Bengaluru Bulls leading U Mumba 13-11.
U Mumba carried some momentum in the second-half after they got Bengaluru Bulls All-Out in the 24th minute to take the lead from Bengaluru to 16-13. Pawan Sehrawat made an immediate comeback as he flipped over a diving Sandeep Narwal’s back to cross the mid-line. Pawan Sehrawat had to keep his ‘Hi-Flyer’ persona at a side as he played cautiously with no help from his fellow raiders. U Mumba’s Arjun Deshwal continued to prove himself as more than just a one match wonder as he got 6 touch points in a game. Pawan made a strong raid as he got Sandeep Narwal and the danger man Arjun Deshwal in his 37th minute raid to inch closer to U Mumba with the score reading 23-22. It was an unforced error by Rohit Baliyan when he was the last man on the mat for U Mumba as he entered the lobby without a touch which inferred an All-Out on U Mumba. It was a slim lead but a slender one that led Bengaluru to take over the match with the game ended with the score reading 30-26 in Bengaluru Bulls favour.
Fans can catch live action of the match between Tamil Thalaivas and Patna Pirates at the Sardar Vallabhai Patel Indoor Stadium, Mumbai on Saturday, 29th July 2019, 7PM onwards and the hosts Bengal Warriors play Puneri Paltan, 8:30PM onwards exclusively on Star Sports Network and Hotstar.