Consistency has been the earmark of Bengaluru Bulls in Season 6

With an amazing late blitz in Qualifier 1, Bengaluru Bulls became the first team to make it to the final of VIVO Pro Kabaddi Season 6 and, while it is a splendid achievement, it is no surprise to see Bengaluru Bulls in the final given their efficiency and consistency throughout the campaign.

Bengaluru Bulls finished top of Zone B with a record of 13 wins, seven losses and two ties in their 22 fixtures, finishing nine points clear of second-placed Bengal Warriors. Bengaluru Bulls picked up at least a point in all their 22 fixtures this campaign; an indication of how close the games that they lost have been.

Against their fellow Zone B teams, Bengaluru Bulls won 10 of their 15 fixtures, losing only four times and splitting the spoils evenly once. The only team that Bengaluru Bulls failed to beat from Zone B was Bengal Warriors, who swept the season series between the two teams. In the Inter-Zone matches, Bengaluru Bulls had mixed fortunes as they managed only three victories in their seven matches, losing thrice and tying once.

They opened their campaigns with back-to-back victories in the Southern Derby over Tamil Thalaivas, and the star of the show on both nights was raider Pawan Kumar Sehrawat, who announced himself to the world in his return to Bengaluru Bulls, scoring 34 raid points in two matches at a mammoth strike rate of 117.24. The raider has only grown in stature throughout the campaign and leads the league in raid points with 249. With both his realistic competitors having no more matches left to play, Sehrawat is almost certain to pick up the Best Raider Award for Season 6 and is one of the favourites to pick up the MVP Award as well.

While Sehrawat hit top form in Bengaluru Bulls’ opening fixture of the season, captain Rohit Kumar took his time to get in the groove and when he finally did, he single-handedly carried his team to a victory over U.P. Yoddha in the teams’ first meeting this campaign, scoring 14 raid points in a close contest. During Bengaluru Bulls’ home leg, the skipper scored a team-leading 56 raid points in six appearances, hitting peak form in his team’s time of need.  

Speaking of Bengaluru Bulls’ home leg, they finished the week with three wins and three losses, managing a decent return of 18 points out of a possible 30. Their average score differential in victories during their home leg was a comfortable +10.66 points, while in defeat it was a meagre -4 points. This pattern is in line with the entirety of their league campaign, with their average margin in 13 wins being +9.92 points, while in defeats, it was a low -3.57 points.

Bengaluru Bulls are the only team in the league with an over 500 raid point aggregate this season and also rank first in the league in average raid points scored with 22.65. Their defence, however, is midtable and ranks sixth in the league in tackle points scored and seventh in average tackle points. They lead the league in Super Raids with 20 but are bottom of the pile in Super Tackles with 12.

However, their low Super Tackle count is also down to the fact that they rarely face a situation where they are down to three or fewer men on the mat, evident by the fact that are joint third-lowest in All-Outs conceded in the league, despite playing a game more than six other teams. Their potent offence is extremely efficient in reviving defenders and wiping out opponents and are joint-second in the league in All-Outs inflicted.

Bengaluru Bulls are an offensive juggernaut, led by the incredible Pawan Kumar Sehrawat and aided by the experience of skipper Rohit Kumar and Kashiling Adake. The offence has delivered throughout the campaign for Bengaluru Bulls and will be looking to do so one last time this season against Gujarat Fortunegiants on Saturday.

The VIVO Pro Kabaddi Season 6 final will see Bengaluru Bulls battle Gujarat Fortunegiants at the Dome@NSCI SVP Stadium on Saturday.