Pro Kabaddi League 2019 | Match 45: Tamil Thalaivas vs Bengaluru Bulls Review | 17th August

Tamil Thalaivas were all set to take the mat against the defending champions on the first day of their home leg at the Pro Kabaddi 2019. Coming from a victory in their previous match, the Thalaivas also had the advantage of home support.

On the other hand, Bengaluru Bulls lost their last two matches despite Pawan Sehrawat's smouldering display. Read to find out how the Southern derby unfolded itself at the Jawaharlal Nehru Indoor Stadium in Chennai.

Starting 7s

Tamil Thalaivas: Ajay Thakur, Rahul Chaudhari, Shabeer Bappu, Ajeet, Mohit Chhillar, Manjeet Chhillar, Ran Singh

Bengaluru Bulls: Rohit Kumar, Pawan Kumar Sehrawat, Vijay Kumar, Saurabh Nandal, Ajay, Amit Sheoran, Ankit

Toss

Tamil Thalaivas won the toss and chose the court.

Young prowess Pawan Sehrawat went for his team's first raid and returned with a beautiful point. With the green armband, Sehrawat was on top of the best raiders' list with 87 points to his name in the seventh season.

A running hand touch on Mohit Chhillar by the high-flyer Pawan ensured a point for the Bulls. Pouncing on the iceman Ajay Thakur, the Bengaluru-based franchise scored their first tackle point of the night. An unnecessary advanced tackle by the poster boy Rahul Chaudhari gave the Bulls a lead of five points.

With six minutes into the battle, just Manjeet was remaining from the Thalaivas mat. Suffering an all-out in the seventh minute of the match, Tamil were trailing their opponents by a huge nine points at 1-10. Manjeet opened the account for his team after stealing a bonus right before conceding the all-out.

A wonderful tackle by Tamil's defense on Pawan gave them their first tackle point of the night. The home team started catching up with the rivals, pitching in points gradually. A two-pointer by Shabeer Bappu lessened the score difference to six points.

After a high-scoring first half, the score, 17-10 was tilted in Bengaluru's favour. As the second half commenced, Ajith picked up a swift point to score for his squad. Tamil Thalaivas, who started slowly, were making a gradual comeback. A review was claimed by Tamil in the 25th minute of the battle, which ended up unsuccessful.

Adding to the woes of the Thalaivas, Pawan hand-touched Manjeet skillfully and sent him off the mat. A risky back hold was executed with perfection by Ran Singh, which was later challenged by the Bulls. Upon inspection, the review was deemed futile.

A struggling Ajay Thakur was super-tackled by the Bulls' defense, despite his desperate efforts to squirm out of the defenders' hold. A top-class two-pointer by Ankit allowed both Rohit and Pawan back into the squad.

Saurabh Nandal, displaying a brilliant game, completed the second high-five of his career in his debut season of the league. Throughout the encounter, Manjeet was unable to score a single tackle point, which was depressing.

A second all-out for the Thalaivas confirmed victory for the Bulls. Pawan, who also completed his fifth consecutive super ten, was the most crucial player for Bengaluru, helping them clinch the victory with the score 32-21.

It is to be noted that Saurabh and Pawan were the only players who strived throughout for their squad. Despite the win, relying on a few players can backfire for the Bulls in the long run.

It was a disappointing outcome for the Thalaivas in their first match of the home leg. Funnily enough, Rahul was substituted way too early by the coach, which was pretty unusual, given his importance in the squad, and that could have had an impact on their performance.

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