Zone B leaders Bengaluru Bulls face stern test at home against Bengal Warriors

The final game of Bengaluru Bulls’ home leg sees them take on Bengal Warriors at the Shree Shiv Chhatrapati Sports Complex in Pune on Thursday. The home side are sitting pretty at the top of Zone B and a victory will help them increase their lead over defending champions Patna Pirates to 19 points. A win for Bengal Warriors will take them within one point of second-placed Patna Pirates with an additional game in hand.

The two sides last met in Bengaluru Bulls’ maiden match of their home leg, where Bengal Warriors came out victors by a narrow two-point margin. Raiders Pawan Kumar Sehrawat and Maninder Singh starred for Bengaluru Bulls and Bengal Warriors respectively, managing Super 10s in a game dominated by the offence.

Match 88 (Zone B): Bengaluru Bulls vs Bengal Warriors

Head-to-head: Bengaluru Bulls 7-5 Bengal Warriors

Form Guide:

Stats from the last five matches –

Average Points Scored – 34

Average Points Conceded – 28.6

Best Raider – Rohit Kumar

Best Defender – Mahender Singh  

Stats from the last five matches –

Average Points Scored – 30.8

Average Points Conceded – 30.2

Best Raider – Maninder Singh

Best Defender – Baldev Singh

The big battle

Rohit Kumar vs Maninder Singh

With 47 raid points in his last five games, Bengaluru Bulls skipper Rohit Kumar has regained his form at the right time. He played the role of backup raider in the earlier part of the campaign, giving them impetus when lead raider Pawan Kumar Sehrawat has been limited. But he has come into his own in their home leg and has led the team from the front. With his average of 9.4 in the home leg being much higher than his season average of 6.73 raid points per match, Bengaluru Bulls will hope for one final strong performance from their captain at home.

Maninder Singh has led Bengal Warriors’ offence brilliantly, scoring four Super 10s this season, all of which have resulted in victory for the team. Having scored 58 raid points more than the next best raider in the Bengal Warriors’ roster, Singh is worth his weight in gold for his team. He managed 14 raid points in the previous encounter between the two sides, reaching 100 overall raid points this season in the process, the third time he has reached that mark in a season in his VIVO Pro Kabaddi career.

The battle between the two raiders will be key in deciding the outcome of the game. Whoever scores more raid points will help his team in a big way in their quest for victory.

Key Khiladi -

Pawan Kumar Sehrawat – Bengaluru Bulls

Pawan Kumar Sehrawat is currently the leading points-scorer this season with 170 points in 15 games. He has been in scintillating form and will hope to give the home crowd something to cheer about for one final time this season. Sehrawat will also be keen to add to his Super 10s tally having already managed one against Bengal Warriors in their previous encounter.

Baldev Singh – Bengal Warriors

Baldev Singh has impressed in the Right Corner for Bengal Warriors, ending up as their best defender since he came into the starting lineup. Bengal Warriors’ defence has performed well after his arrival and they will look to limit Pawan Kumar Sehrawat’s threat by unleashing Baldev’s strong holds against him. Despite managing only one tackle point in the previous encounter against Bengaluru Bulls, but he'll be one to watch out for in this match.