Bengal Warriors produced a clinical performance to beat Tamil Thalaivas 33-29 in a Pro Kabaddi League Season 7 contest at the Shaheed Vijay Singh Pathik Sports Complex on Wednesday, 9 October.
Sukesh Hegde (6 raid points), Mohammad Nabibakhsh (7 points) and Rinku Narwal (High 5 with 5 tackle points) impressed for the Warriors as they picked up a win to go atop the points table.
Rahul Chaudhari scored 7 points for the Thalaivas as they finished their woeful campaign with another loss. The star-studded Chennai-based team managed only four wins in the entire season.
Thalaivas approached the match with confidence, having beaten Jaipur Pink Panthers in their previous outing, and opened up a lead in the early minutes, thanks to Ajith Kumar and Rahul Chaudhari's raids. Rahul moved well on the mat to pick up valuable points, but the Warriors defence soon got into the game with some impressive performance by Mohammad Nabibakhsh.
Soon Warriors were in the lead, but Thalaivas regrouped well to stay in the match. Warriors' lack of ruthlessness then allowed Thalaivas to make a comeback, as the first half ended with the scores tied at 13-13.
Warriors stepped up their game in the second half, thanks largely to raiders Nabibakhsh and Sukesh Hegde. Though Ran Singh pulled off a Super Tackle in the fifth minute of the half, it was just a case of delaying the inevitable with the Warriors picking up their first All-Out in the 8th minute to open up a 6-point lead.
Thalaivas' Ajith Kumar was in no mood to be contained though and his raids made it a 2-point game soon after the All-Out.
But Rinku Narwal produced a Super Tackle with 7 minutes remaining on the clock to halt Thalaivas’ progress.
Sourabh Tanaji Patil also chipped in with valuable raid points for the Warriors as they once again opened up a 6-point lead with two minutes remaining. The Warriors defence held firm in the final minutes to clinch victory.
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