Telugu Titans secured a tight win against Bengal Warriorz while Haryana Steelers moved to top of the points table with a win over Bengaluru Bulls in PKL Season 11 at the Noida Indoor Stadium on Thursday.
Telugu Titans defeated Bengal Warriorz 31-29 as Vijay Malik scored 14 points and thwarted a comeback attempt from Bengal Warriorz to secure the five points.
The Bengal Warriorz started strong, with early points for Pranay Rane and Manjeet.
However, the Telugu Titans – led by Vijay Malik yet again – used the momentum to shift the tide in their favour. He got a raid that ended in three points as he got Fazel Atrachali and Manjeet, while Vishwas S stepped into the lobby, giving away a non-raid technical point.
The excellent all-round performance from the Telugu Titans was complemented by their defence and attack, as Vijay Malik got Fazel Atrachali in a Do-Or-Die raid. Vishwas S was then unsuccessful in his raid attempt as the Telugu Titans inflicted the all-out on the Bengal Warriorz. This extended the lead to 10 points as the first half ended with the scoreline reading 19-9 in favour of the Telugu Titans.
The second half was no different, as the Telugu Titans maintained their lead over the Bengal Warriorz. With the hope of mounting a comeback, raiders Pranay Rane and Nitin Kumar stepped up with raid points, while Hem Raj successfully tackled Ashish Narwal in a Do-Or-Die raid.
But Vijay – who had completed a well-earned Super 10 for his team – was equally adept in keeping his team in front.
The Bengal Warriorz closed the gap on their opponents with an important ALL OUT in the fifth minute, as the difference between the two teams was reduced to just five points.
Sushil Kambrekar was brought onto the mat and earned two very by the Bengal Warriorz important Raid Points that got both Sagar and Ankit in one fell swoop.
It was a little too late though at the end of the 40 minutes, as Ashish Narwal and Shankar Gadai closed out a well-earned win by a difference of two points.
Haryana Steelers got back to winning ways and moved back to the top of the table after their commanding performance against Bengaluru Bulls.
Led by Vinay’s Super 10, the table toppers came out on top with the scoreline of 32-26. Akshit and Nitin Rawal made notable contributions for Bengaluru Bulls, who remain winless in their last five matches.
Vinay was quick off the block for the Haryana Steelers, getting their first four points, while Pardeep Narwal got Bengaluru Bulls off the mark. After a quick start, the tempo of the game did slow down slightly.
It was the Haryana Steelers who asserted their dominance in the opening exchanges, increasing their lead to five points courtesy of Shivam Patare.
The showstopper, Mohammadreza Shadloui didn’t stay out of the action for too long either, getting a two-point raid to inflict an ALL OUT on the Bengaluru Bulls. It didn’t take the Haryana Steelers much time to double their lead as the Bengaluru Bulls struggled on the offensive end.
They closed out the first half on a bit of a high, with Akshit succeeding on a Do-or-Die Raid, before his teammate, Parteek, tackled Shivam Patare. Despite the two points, Bengaluru Bulls were still trailing by nine points at the end of the first half with the scoreline at 12-21.
After a sedate start to the second half, Jai Bhagwan sprung into action to raid Mohammadreza Shadloui on a Do-or-Die Raid and followed it up with one on Rahul, executing an ALL OUT on the Haryana Steelers. With the gap closed to five points, Bengaluru Bulls were right back into the game, only momentarily though.
Vinay carried on his excellent raiding form for the Haryana Steelers, putting them up by seven points once more. Akshit continued to fight for the Bengaluru Bulls, getting the better of Mohammadreza Shadloui on a Do-or-Die Raid. However, they could never really close the gap significantly though, as Vinay kept scoring raid points for fun, keeping Haryana Steelers’ healthy lead intact, as he completed his Super 10.
A Super Tackle on Vinay helped the Bengaluru Bulls close the gap to seven points with under six minutes to go. But every time the Bengaluru Bulls seemed like they could close the gap, Haryana Steelers had an answer to keep their opponents at an arm’s length.
Akshit was the only one who carried on his good work on the offensive end for the Bengaluru Bulls as they resorted to the Super Tackle strategy with the clock running down.
However, Vinay didn’t allow them to have much success with it though, as Haryana Steelers ran down the clock and eventually sealed a six-point win to move back to the top of the table.
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