Dominant Bengal goes top of table with easy win over Patna

BENGALURU: A dominant Bengal Warriors cruised to a thumping 60-42 win over Patna Pirates to record its third victory in four matches and remain unbeaten in the 10th edition of Pro Kabaddi League here on Tuesday.

Bengal climbed to the top of the table, leapfrogging Gujarat Giants, with 18 points on the back of three wins and a tie. Patna, meanwhile, suffered its first loss this season in three matches and has 10 points to its name.

With both teams boasting an unbeaten record heading into the match, it was expected to be a much closer affair than what it eventually turned out to be. Bengal was in the ascendancy from the beginning and never let go of its advantage at any stage of the game. Maninder Singh got going from the fifth minute and he ended up with 15 points.

He received good support from fellow raiders Nitin Kumar (14) and the seasoned Shrikant Jadhav (12) as the three amassed 41 points between them, almost the same as what Patna ended up scoring. That tells how the trio ran rings around a hapless Patna defence that appeared clueless against them.

Raider Sachin was Patna’s lone saving grace as he finished with 14 points and tried his best to keep his team in the contest but he was let down by his team-mates who were easily outclassed by the well-oiled outfit that Bengal is threatening to look like early into its campaign. Nitin earned the first Super Raid of the match in the 11th minute to put his team ahead by a point at 10-9. A few minutes later Bengal effected the first of its three ALL OUTs by tackling raider Manjeet in the 14th minute to seize a five-point advantage at 16-11. Bengal went from strength to strength from thereon with Shrikant earning his first SUPER RAID in the 16th minute to extend his team’s lead to 20-12. Patna tried to claw its way back through the impressive M Sudhakar who won his team’s first SUPER RAID in the 18th minute to reduce the deficit to 22-16. At half-time Bengal enjoyed a substantial lead with the scoreline reading 27-16.

The script didn’t change upon resumption with Bengal continuing its dominance as Patna defence struggled to contain the marauding Bengal raiders. In the end, Bengal ran out a deserving winner and the signs are indeed looking ominous for the rest of the teams even if the season is still in its infancy.

In the post-match press conference, Bengal Warriors coach K Baskaran was all praise for the all-round effort of his team and reserved special praise for raider Nitin.

RESULT: Bengal Warriors 60 bt Patna Pirates 42