Derby delight for Bengaluru Bulls, as they beat Telugu Titans to ascend to top of the table

A late onslaught from the Telugu Titans wasn’t enough, as Bengaluru Bulls banked five points with a 36-31 win and climbed to the top of the vivo Pro Kabaddi Season 8 standings. Skipper Pawan Sehrawat registered another Super 10, while Saurabh Nandal and Aman combined for eight tackle points.

The Bulls were in the ascendancy early and raced to a 4-0 lead, courtesy of three points from Sehrawat and one from Nandal. The Hi-Flyer was in his element and pulled off a sensational Kick to tag Sandeep Kandola and add another point to his tally. Sehrawat then went in to raid against two Titans defenders and managed to pressure one out of bounds before tagging the other with a Running Hand Touch en route to the midline and inflicted the game’s first All Out to give the Bulls a seven-point lead.

Post the All Out, the Titans found their footing but couldn’t dent the Bulls’ lead, who continued to lead by seven. Sehrawat continued to add to his tally and soon completed his Super 10 with two successful bonus attempts, pushing Bengaluru’s lead to nine. In the final minute of the half, Aman and Sehrawat added two more points to their team’s tally, as the two teams went into the break with the Bulls leading 22-11.

The defences came to the fore early in the second half, especially the Titans’, as they helped their side cut the Bulls’ lead to eight. Telugu’s raider joined in on the action, as Adarsh T escaped an Ankle Hold attempt from Nandal before Beniwal executed a stellar Kick on Ankit to reduce the Bulls to three players on the mat.

Adarsh then added two more touch points to his tally in two raid attempts, leaving the Bulls with a solitary player on the mat. Kandola and the rest of the defence combined to pin down Bharat to inflict an All Out on Bengaluru and cut their team’s deficit to five.

The Bulls maintained their five-point lead, courtesy of some assured tackling from their defence, but their raiding unit’s sudden falter gave the Titans hope of a potential comeback. Beniwal’s brilliant Ankle Hold against Sehrawat, followed by successful raids from Adarsh and Ankit, saw the Titans close the gap to three on the scoreboard.

But just when the Titans closed in, Deepak Narwal and Nandal combined to add two unanswered points to their team’s total to ensure a key win for the Bulls.

Top Performers

Bengaluru Bulls

Best Raider – Pawan Sehrawat (12 Raid Points)

Best Defender – Saurabh Nandal (4 Tackle Points)

Telugu Titans 

Best Raider – Ankit Beniwal (6 Raid Points)

Best Defender – Akash Choudhary (5 Tackle Points)