Maninder Singh’s crucial two-point raid in the last five minutes was the brave moment of the match as it turned the tide in Warriors’ favour. GB More displayed great fitness levels to power through Bengal defence on multiple occasions.
In a closely-fought encounter, it was Bengal Warriors that came on top as they beat Puneri Paltan 26-22 in the Inter Zone Challenge Week of Vivo Pro Kabaddi Season 6. Both teams could’ve won it but it was Bengal who at the crucial moments held their nerve to outclass the opposition. Maninder Singh scored six raid points for Bengal and was ably supported by Ravindra Kumawat who pitched in with five crucial points. For Puneri Paltan, GB More scored nine points but just didn’t get enough support from his fellow raiders.
GB More got Puneri Paltan up and running with two raids in two minutes but Bengal Warriors leveled the
GB More displayed great fitness levels to power through Bengal defence on multiple occasions
game with a tackle and raid point. Akshay Jadhav got into the act for Puneri Paltan and scored two raid points to give his team 4-2 lead. GB More made a two- point raid as Puneri Paltan led 6-3 after five minutes.
Bengal Warriors never let the lead increase to more than three points as their defence helped them to level the match at 7-7 after 10 minutes. Both teams approached the match with caution as they traded raid and tackle points at regular intervals. At the end of the first half, Puneri Paltan held a slender one- point advantage to lead 13-12.
The second half saw the same pattern emerge as neither teams could gain an advantage. There was no all out inflicted and neither teams’ raiders could get going as we have seen in the past. After 30 minutes of play both teams were level at 16-16 and it was anyone’s game.
A lot of empty raids were made as both teams played on the do-or-die raid strategy. It was Bengal Warriors defence that kept them in the game as they made a slew of successful tackles.
In the 36th minute, Maninder Singh made a crucial two-point raid to give Bengal Warriors 21-19 lead. In the next minute Bengal Warriors inflicted the first all out of the match to open a six-point gap to lead 25-19.
Despite GB More getting two raid points in the last two minutes, Bengal Warriors held their nerve to win 26-22.
Fans can catch live action of Inter-Zone Challenge Week matches when Gujarat Fortunegiants play UP Yoddha while Jaipur Pink Panthers take on Bengaluru Bulls on Saturday, i.e. 18th November 2018, 7:30 pm onwards, on Star Sports 2, Star Sports 2 HD, Star Sports 1 Hindi, Star Sports 1 HD Hindi, Star Sports 1 Tamil, Star Suvarna Plus, Star Maa Gold, Star Sports First and Hotstar.
