Vivo Pro Kabaddi League Season 8: Defenders shine as Patna Pirates outclass Bengaluru Bulls 38-31
Bengaluru, January 16: With the help of defenders Sunil and Mohammadreza Shadloui’s brilliant performances, Patna Pirates earned a convincing 38-31 win against Bengaluru Bulls in the Vivo Pro Kabaddi League Season 8 match at The Sheraton Grand, Whitefield, here on Sunday.
Pirates’ defenders Sunil (9 points) and Mohammadreza Shadloui (3 points) were instrumental in setting up a defensive wall that even the likes of Pawan Sehrawat could not break. Pawan, the current green sleeve holder (given to raider with most raiding points), scored a Super 10 in the first half but could not contribute even one point after the interval. A series of Super Tackles in the dying minutes ensured the Bulls lost the match with a margin of just 7 points.
The Bulls started the match brightly with Pawan Sehrawat looking his usual best. But Pirates certainly had a plan to stop the Season 6 champions. Their defenders pounced in group to shift theirmomentum to their side. Interestingly, coach Ram Mehar Singh opted to start Guman Singh instead of the experienced Monu Goyat. Pirates unleashed a two-headed raiding attack with Sachin and Guman who picked easy points out of a confused Bulls defence.
They clinched their first ALL OUT in the 9th minute to open a 2-point lead. Pawan Sehrawat, meanwhile, got his Super 10 but the Bulls could only make three successful tackles in the first half that ended 20-16 in favour of the Pirates.
Pirates were in no mood to slip up in the second half. Their defence was nearly flawless as the three-time champions clinched another ALL OUT in the 7th minute after restart.
The likes of Pawan Sehrawat and Deepak Narwal struggled to find a way past the steely defence marshalled by Sunil in the right corner. Sunil got a High 5 as Pirates opened a 11-point lead with 10 minutes remaining in the match.
The Pirates continued their “high risk-high rewards” defending to sustain the lead. They might have mistaken by conceding too many Super Tackles in the dying minutes which helped Bulls lose with a margin of just 7 points (earning 1 point from the result).