Kolkata: Nitin Kumar’s brilliant 13 points and Maninder Singh’s 8 points as Bengal Warriors inflicted a heavy 55-35 loss on the Telugu Titans to take a much-deserved victory in front of their home crowd in a Season 10 match of the Pro Kabaddi League (PKL) at the Netaji Indoor Stadium on Saturday.
With a loud and packed crowd backing them the Warriors were keen to put on a show, and right from the off were keen to settle the affair easily. Within seven minutes of the first half, they had inflicted the first All-Out of the game to surge into an 11-3 lead. Maninder Singh, in particular, scythed through the Titans’ defence in those early exchanges setting the tone for an ultimately fruitful evening.
While Maninder kept his looming threat large on the Titans, Nitin Kumar quietly went about his business as the other raider to keep hurting them with touchpoints and limiting their numbers on the mat. A second All-Out came with two minutes of the first half left, as the Warriors took a comprehensive 12-point lead at the break. S. Vishwas’s Super Raid early in the second half started yet another Titans collapse which led to a third All-Out, a Warriors victory looking all but sealed. For the Warriors though, this was a chance not just to get the points but also boost their point differential and hope to make the playoffs.
They never let up. and another Super Raid, this time by Nitin Kumar, to take out Shankar Gadai, Mohit and Milad Jabbari saw the Warriors inflict a fourth All-Out to take a massive 49-21 lead. The Titans put the Warriors in trouble right at the end of the game, but even then, the Warriors’ spirit showed through. A series of Super Tackles by Dipak Shinde meant that the Titans couldn’t really close the gap. The Titans finally did get their All-Out though, with 10 seconds on the clock remaining, too little to change the result. The Warriors took the massive 20-point victory with glee.
–IANS
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