PKL 2017 | Rohit Kumar inspires Bengaluru Bulls’ 31-20 victory over Telugu Titans

Rohit Kumar and Ajay Kumar set the tone for Bengaluru Bulls

After a slow start to the game, Rahul Chaudhari achieved his 500th raid point in the PKL as he gave the Telugu Titans a 2-0 lead, but Ajay Kumar halved the deficit as he opened Bengaluru Bulls’ account. Rohit Kumar then levelled things up for the bulls as he claimed a bonus point for the away side. Bengaluru Bulls then went into the lead by stopping Vikas on his raid which was followed by skipper Rohit Kumar scoring two points in a do-or-die raid to take his side’s total to 5 points. Further, Chaudhari was pounced upon by the defenders reducing the Titans to just three men.The Bengaluru skipper then continued his fine form on the mat as he managed a dubki over to Telugu players to give the Bulls an 8-4 lead. And after that, it was only a matter of time before the away side inflicted the first all out of the game as they went ahead 9-4. Ajay Kumar then followed in the footsteps of his skipper as he ruled out two Titans raiders to extend Bulls’ lead to 7 points. Towards the end of the first half, Telugu Titans tried to mount a comeback as Nilesh Salunkhe earned another raid point for the hosts after Rakesh Kumar’s ankle hold resulted in Gurvinder Singh’s exit from the mat, but it wasn’t enough for the home side as they went into the break trailing 10-15. 

Rohit Kumar trumps Rahul Chaudhari in the battle of the raiders

Rohit Kumar resumed the game fetching a bonus point for the away side before Telugu Titans’ top scorer, Nilesh Salunkhe, was brought down in the Bengaluru Bulls half and sent to the bench. With his side continuing to trail, Rakesh Kumar yet again rose to the occasion helping the home team in the defence which was followed by Chaudhari’s successful raid. Ajay Kumar then went into the opposition half for a do-or-die raid and diligently got a bonus point to avoid the bench. However, Chaudhari was yet again unsuccessful with a raid attempt as he was caught by none other than Rohit Kumar with the scoreboard reading 21-14 in the Bulls’ favour. Up until that point, the entire Bangalore defence had managed to keep Chaudhari silent as the raid machine had managed only 4 points so far. This also forced the Titans’ skipper off the mat for more than six minutes. But on the other hand, the Titans looked toothless in attack without their skipper as Bangalore bided their time after Rohit Kumar achieved a super 10. After this, Ajay Kumar effectively sealed the deal in Bengaluru’s favour with a brilliant super raid to take his side’s lead to 28-18. In the end, Bengaluru completed a comprehensive win with the final score reading 31-20.