PKL 9: Bengaluru Bulls hold off UP Yoddhas for crucial win, qualify for Play-offs

Hyderabad, Dec 4 (IANS) The Bengaluru Bulls put on a great show to win against the UP Yoddhas by a scoreline of 38-35 in a high-pressure game at the Gachibowli Indoor Stadium to qualify for the playoffs in the Pro Kabaddi League ( PKL) Season 9, here on Sunday.

The Bengaluru Bulls trio of Bharat (8 points), Vikash Kandola (6 points) and Neeraj Narwal (5 points) did enough to get their team over the line and into the Play-offs.

Both teams went into the game with the knowledge that a win would see them qualify for the Play-offs, and in the early stages, there was little to separate them.

Soon, though, Bharat’s influence on the game grew and the UP Yoddhas, reduced in number, stared at an All-Out. Two consecutive Super Tackles by Gurdeep, the second on Bharat, delayed the result. But eventually, the Bengaluru Bulls inflicted the first All-Out of the game to take a slender 13-10 lead.

The Bengaluru Bulls kept the pressure up to increase their lead by two more points, capitalizing on some errors by the UP Yoddhas’s defense to go into half-time holding a 19-14 lead.

The Bengaluru Bulls carried the first-half momentum into the early part of the second period, and soon enough inflicted a second All-Out on the UP Yoddhas to surge into a 10-point lead. With Bharat and Neeraj Narwal prolific on the raid, and Saurabh Nandal keeping the defense tight, it looked like they had locked up a victory.

With five minutes to go the Bengaluru Bulls’ defense suddenly started leaking points and they were soon staring at an All-Out, with the UP Yoddhas eyeing a comeback. A Super Tackle by Mahender Singh on Pardeep Narwal stemmed the flow and kept the UP Yoddhas at bay.

That was enough as the Bengaluru Bulls held on despite a late all-out by the UP Yoddhas, to clinch a deserving victory.

–IANS

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