Bengaluru Bulls took a well deserved, and hard-fought 32-30 win against the Jaipur Pink Panthers in the final game of the second leg at the Sree Kanteerava Stadium here on Wednesday.
An outstanding defensive performance saw the Bulls log an incredible 13 tackle points — eight of which came from defensive corners Saurabh Nandal and Aman.
Despite the Bulls’ quick start on the mat, Pink Panthers’ defensive nous came to the fore, as they slowly chipped away on the scoreboard. Despite a lack of any multi-point raids, the Bulls were soon facing an all-out. Bharat’s 50th raid point of the season came at the cost of an All-out as the Panthers surged into a 10-6 lead.
That setback did little to dim the hopes of the home team though, who slowly came back into the game. The Bulls tightened their raiding and defending moves to put the Pink Panthers on the back foot. The teams went into the break with the Pink Panthers leading by one point at 15-14.
Again, the Pink Panthers came faster out of the blocks in the second half, establishing a good lead, but the Bulls struck back soon enough. They inflicted an All-out of their own to draw level at 21 apiece. The difference was a tightening of the defence. The Bulls logged an outstanding 8 tackle points, six more than their opponents in the second half alone.
A battle of attrition ensued, with neither team managing to establish a lead of more than a point till the final minute of the game. Vikash Kandola went in for the Bulls’ final raid when they had finally established a two-point lead. Almost immediately though the Pink Panthers pounced, Ankush tackling him to cut the lead to one with just one raid remaining.
V Ajith Kumar was handed the responsibility to help the Pink Panthers at the very least tie the game, but he was brilliantly out-maneuvered by a resolute Bulls defence to spark delirium in the stands.