Bengal Warriors ride Surjeet’s High 5 to defeat Tamil Thalaivas

A late All-Out by Bengal Warriors helped them win a close contest against Tamil Thalaivas 28-21 in the closing minutes at the Tau Devilal Sports Complex in Panchkula on Friday. Amit Hooda starred for Tamil Thalaivas with 7 tackle points in an impressive display but Bengal Warriors’ Surjeet Singh managed a High 5 as well and was well supported by substitute Bhupender Singh’s excellent Super Raid in the second half, which helped his team surge ahead.

Tamil Thalaivas seized the early advantage in the contest banking on Ajay Thakur and Sukesh Hegde’s sharp raiding and Corner defender Sunil’s Ankle Hold on Maninder Singh in the 5^th minute, which gave them a 5-2 lead. However, Bengal Warriors managed to cut down the deficit to two points soon after by sending Sukesh Hegde to the bench. This two-point-advantage continued till the 14^th minute, where Bengal Warriors brought in substitute Bhupender Singh in a Do-or-Die raid and he struck immediately with a touch point before Ran Singh’s Block on Hegde in the subsequent Do-or-Die raid for Tamil Thalaivas brought the scores level at 8-8.

Check out the photos from the match here.

Maninder Singh and Ajay Thakur then kept the scoreboard ticking for their respective teams before  Surjeet Singh’s Block on Thakur with just a minute left in the half gave Bengal Warriors an 11-10 lead in the match. They held on to this lead going into halftime, as they had their entire team on the mat but had managed to reduce Tamil Thalaivas to four men.

The second half saw Amit Hooda pull off a marvellous Ankle Hold on a retreating Maninder Singh to help his team draw level in the match before Hegde put them in the lead in the next raid itself after escaping an Ankle Hold effort from the Bengal Warriors defence.

Brought in to pinch a point at a crucial juncture, Athul MS got a touch on Baldev Singh in the 4^th minute to maintain his team’s slender lead in the match but Bhupender Singh’s 4-point Super Raid, which included a bonus point and three touch points, turned the tide around and gave Bengal Warriors a 16-13 advantage in the match.

A successful tackle on Thakur in the 8^th minute then reduced Tamil Thalaivas to three men on the mat and brought on a Super Tackle situation for their team. They made full advantage of this by Dashing out Ran Singh from the mat and earning two vital points to keep the game close at 17-15. Hooda then got his High 5 in the 10^th minute with a strong Dash on Maninder Singh to get his team some momentum, though Bengal Warriors held on to their lead.

Visit the matchcentre to relive the contest here.

With the Super Tackle on in the 17^th minute and Ran Singh sent in to raid again, Bengal Warriors’ efforts got a big boost as the all-rounder returned 2 raid points and helped his side inflict an All-Out soon after to get a decisive 26-19 lead with less than three minutes left on the clock. 

From there it was just a matter of running down the clock for Bengal Warriors as Tamil Thalaivas were handed a 28-21 defeat.

Top Performers –

Tamil Thalaivas

Best Raider: Ajay Thakur (5 raid points)

Best Defender: Amit Hooda (7 tackle points)

Bengal Warriors

Best Raider: Maninder Singh (7 raid points)

Best Defender: Surjeet Singh (6 tackle points)