PKL 2017 | Ajay Kumar shines as Bengaluru Bulls overcome Bengal Warriors

Bengaluru defence gives the home team a competitive edge

Rohit Kumar drew the first blood forcing Bengal Warriors to give away two technical points while the Bulls defence held their ground against Vinod Kumar in a do-or-die raid to take the score to 3-0. Bengal star raider Maninder Singh took charge and sent two Bengaluru players to the bench to open the scoring for the Warriors. However, the home side managed to pin down Maninder to the mat in his following raid but the sensational Jang Kun Lee put Scorpion kick to great use to reduce the deficit to just a single point. Ajay Kumar faltered in the do-or-die raid and Vinod Kumar and Lee managed to send three players to the bench in two successful raids. But Bengaluru skipper Rohit assured that the team does not face an all-out as he showcased his defensive skills scoring two points from a super tackle. However, Rohit had to face the strong Bengal defence in a do-or-die raid and crumbled under pressure. But Ravindra Pahal showed his worth pinning down Maninder to score two points off yet another super tackle to keep the three-point lead intact but a successful raid from substitute Deepak Narwal reduced the lead to 12-10 at the stroke of half time. 

Ajay Kumar powers through Bengal defence to seal the game

The Bulls started the second half with just three players on the mat and the Warriors played risk-free game forcing Ajay Kumar into a do-or-die raid and cashed in on the opportunity by successfully blocking Kumar. The first all-out of the match was on the cards and that happened when Harish Naik was pinned down on the mat as the away side led 16-15 for the first time in the game. However, the match turned on its head when four Bengal players failed to stop Ajay Kumar, thereby conceding four points off a super raid. Suddenly out of nowhere, an all-out looked only a matter of time and the inevitable happened with Lee falling prey to Bulls defence as the home team opened up a six-point lead with 24-18. Ajay continued his splendid run on the mat sending Warriors captain Surjeet Singh to the bench before the Bulls defence brought down the in-form Lee in their half. After Lee, Maninder was sent to the bench who was forced by the Bulls defence to spend more than 14 minutes off the mat. From then on, the defence and attack worked synchronously and eventually paved the way for a Bengaluru side win by a margin go 31-25.