Bengaluru Bulls defeated Gujarat Giants to join Patna Pirates, UP Yodha and Dabang Delhi in the semis of Pro Kabaddi League 2021-22.
It's Patna Pirates vs UP Yodha and Dabang Delhi vs Bengaluru Bulls in the semi-finals of Pro Kabaddi League 2021-22. The semis are scheduled for Wednesday and the winners will meet in Friday's season finale. All the Pro Kabaddi League matches will be televised live on Star Sports channels and fans can also live stream the action on Disney+ Hotstar. (More Sports News)
Bengaluru Bulls became the fourth and final team to make the semis on Monday with their 49-29 win over Gujarat Giants in the Pro Kabaddi League Season 8, Eliminator 2. It was a collective performance led by star raider Pawan Sehrawat at Sheraton Grand, Whitefield, Bengaluru.
The skipper Sehrawat scored 13 points while Mahender clinched a High 5 from the cover position. The Bulls outplayed Gujarat in every department with secondary raiders Bharat and Chandran Ranjit also contributing to the points.
The win helped the 2018 champions set up a last-four showdown with last season's runners-up, Dabang Delhi.
Gujarat lacked the usual focus in the defence and conceded an early lead which they found difficult to chase.
The match had a cagey start with both teams sizing each other up. The defences made uncanny errors while raiders took a very cautious approach.
But Bengaluru slowly started dominating with their secondary raider Chandran Ranjit also chipping in with valuable points. A double-headed attack along with Pawan gave Bulls their first All Out in the 14th minute to open a 9-point lead.
Gujarat didn’t let the All Out affect them badly and immediately initiated a fightback.
Rakesh S and Pardeep Kumar started dominating the raids and reduced Bengaluru to just two men on the court in the final minute of the first half.
But Mahender clinched a Super Tackle right before the interval to end the half with the scores 24-17. Gujarat had just one tackle point in the first half.
The Bulls then prevented an early All Out with another Super Tackle by Mahender in the first minute of the second half. He picked his High 5 in the process and Bharat then backed it up with a 4-point Super Raid.
The numerical advantage helped the Bulls inflict another All Out in the 6th minute after the restart to make the scores 35-21.
Pawan secured his Super 10 as the Bulls opened a 15-point advantage with 10 minutes remaining in the eliminator round.
The Bulls continued to dominate with their defence thwarting the Giants with ease. They had 14 tackle points compared to Gujarat’s five with five minutes remaining.
The Season 6 champions inflicted another All Out with three minutes remaining to make the scores 48-28. The Bulls' defenders kept calm in the final minutes to clinch the playoff win.
Earlier in the day, UP Yoddha defeated Puneri Paltan 42-31, thanks to Pardeep Narwal's 18-point performance in the Eliminator 1.
Patna Pirates and Dabang Delhi booked the semis sports after finishing first and second in the regular season with 86 and 75 points from 22 matches respectively.
Haryana Steelers, Jaipur Pink Panthers, Bengal Warriors, U Mumba, Tamil Thalaivas and Telugu Titans are other teams in the 12-team league.
7:30 PM: Semifinal 1 – Patna Pirates vs U.P. Yoddha
8:30 PM: Semifinal 2 – Dabang Delhi K.C. vs Bengaluru Bulls
Venue: Sheraton Grand, Whitefield, Bengaluru
All the matches can be watched LIVE on Star Sports Network and Disney+Hotstar.