The Bengaluru Bulls bounced back to winning ways as they clutched on to a big lead in the first half to win 36-22 over the Tamil Thalaivas in the 'Southern Derby' at the Shree Shiv Chhatrapati Sports Complex in Pune.
The Bulls came into the contest with a need to sort out the 'home leg conundrum', which seemed to fade away with every minute as the Bulls combined from both departments to pile the misery on the Tamil Thalaivas.
Rohit Kumar was the star of the show as he picked up a 'Super 10' and also added a vital tackle point while on the defense front, Amit Sheoran made most of the start awarded to him and picked four tackle points, matching Mahender Singh's four-point effort from the left cover position.
For the Thalaivas, substitute Anil Kumar stole the spotlight as he was subbed on early in the first half in place of D Gopu and went on to make raiding difficult for Pawan Sehrawat, finishing with a much deserved 'High-5' from the game.
Here are the player ratings for this game.
Tamil Thalaivas
Ajay Thakur - 6/10
The Thalaivas skipper failed to display his best form as he was kept quiet by the Bengaluru defense unit as he picked just the six raid points from 17 raids on the night.
Jasvir Singh - 6.5/10
The veteran raider looked solid in the first half as he brought out a classy mix of reverse toe touches and hand touches to pick three points but his good touch went missing in the second half as he finished with only three points.
Manjeet Chhillar - 7/10
The burly all-rounder was a pale shadow of himself as he was caught off-guard on quite a few occasions by Rohit Kumar but made a good super tackle on Pawan Sehrawat in the second half which gave him the confidence to pick another point, finishing with three tackle points.
Sukesh Hegde - 5/10
Sukesh Hegde was not in his prime form as he was often brought down by some strong dashes from the Bengaluru Bulls defenders which saw him lose out on his place to Athul MS for the second half.
Vimal Raj V - 4/10
The youngster was awarded a start but failed to make an impact as his two tackles went in vain and gifted easy points to Rohit Kumar while he was also brought down by Amit Sheoran on his two raids.
D Gopu - 3/10
The corner defender looked out of sorts as he made a few errors to gift early points to the Bengaluru Bulls and was subbed off in the first half.
Pradap D - 3/10
The young all-rounder made one too many errors as his poor defensive show saw him finish without a point from four tackles.
SUBSTITUTES
Anil Kumar - 9/10
The right corner defender came in place of D Gopu and was a force to reckon with as his blocks in front of the mid-line earned him a well-deserved High 5. He often had the number of the in-form Pawan Sehrawat, who was brought down on three occasions by the right corner.
Athul MS - 7/10
The lanky raider came in place of Sukesh Hegde in the second half and picked up two points, including one bonus point.
Surjeet Singh - 5/10
The experienced raider came off the benches in the second half but failed to make an impact as he was dashed out on the Do or Die raid.
C Arun - 5/10
C Arun was subbed on as a hopeful candidate to make some vicious tackles but the right corner was quiet all throughout the game and failed to pick a single point.
Bengaluru Bulls
Rohit Kumar - 9/10
The Bulls skipper fired on all cylinders as he put on a raiding masterclass that fetched him a 'Super-10' as his ability to continually pick points saw him finish with 11 points.
Pawan Sehrawat - 7/10
The in-form Sehrawat could not repeat his heroics from the first meeting of these two teams as he was often brought down by Anil Kumar as he finished with just six points from the game.
Mahender Singh - 7.5/10
Young Mahender Singh was in prime touch throughout the night as his dashes, one in particular against Vimal Raj V in the final minutes of the game stood out as the youngster continued his rich vein of form with four points.
Amit Sheoran - 8.5/10
Amit Sheoran made optimum use of the start awarded to him as he brought out his ankle holds to good effect and finished with four tackle points while also assisting his teammates in their tackles as well.
Ashish Sangwan - 6/10
Sangwan looked unsettled in the Bulls' defense unit and was the prime target for Ajay Thakur's running hand touches. The all-rounder finished with one raid point and one tackle point from the night.
Kashiling Adake - 5/10
The lanky raider failed to bring out his defensive abilities and seemed content to raid but picked just the two raid points from ten raids.
Raju Lal Choudhary - 5/10
The Bulls' right corner held onto his place for the game and blew hot and cold as he picked two points but was often caught napping by the Thalaivas' raiders.