Young raider helps Bengaluru defeat Delhi in thrilling match

PUNE: Riding on a fantastic performance from the lanky Bharat, Bengaluru Bulls surged to the top of the standings with a nervy 47-43 win over defending champion Dabang Delhi here on Saturday.

Following its win, Bengaluru, the champion in Season 6, has 29 points from 8 matches with five wins, two defeats and a tie. Delhi, meanwhile, slipped to second with its third defeat in eight matches and has 28 points.

Bengaluru dominated the proceedings initially when it raced to a healthy 26-14 lead in the 16th minute after effecting two ‘All Outs’ in such a short span of time. At that stage, with Bengaluru holding the upper hand, it looked as if the match would end up being a damp squib but given the pedigree Delhi has, it soon started clawing its way back through its impressive raiding duo of Naveen Kumar and Ashu Malik.

At half-time, the scoreline read 27-19 in favour of Bengaluru. It became 28-22 soon after resumption and that was when the tide started turning in Delhi’s favour as the capital outfit effected its first ‘All Out’ in the 25th minute to reduce the deficit to 28-25. But the ever-impressive Bharat remained a thorn in its flesh flaunting his stupendous raiding ability and always finding a way to wriggle his way out of the rival team’s grasp.

At this juncture, the lead kept oscillating between the two teams before Ashu pulled off a brilliant ‘Super Raid’ in the 28th minute to restore parity at 31-31 apiece. Bharat was not to be left behind and in his next raid he made it 32-31.

In the 39th minute of the match, Delhi captain Naveen effected an ‘All Out’ to swell his team’s lead to five points at 42-37 and with the clock ticking it looked improbable for Bengaluru to regain the lead. But then Bharat had a mind of his own and after securing a crucial two-point raid, he singlehandedly effected ‘All Out’ with barely a few seconds remaining to make it 47-43 and with it take his team to the summit of the table. Not surprisingly, he finished with a total of 20 points and played an instrumental role in his team’s win.

In the post-match press conference, the unassuming Bharat thanked his coach and his team-mates for helping him come up with a stellar show. The Bengaluru coach, Randhir Singh, meanwhile asserted that Bharat would finish with in excess of 200 raid points this season. On the back of his superlative effort on Saturday, it would be imprudent to take issue with that number. In the evening’s second match, Gujarat Giants steamrollered Telugu Titans 30-19 to record its fourth win in eight matches.

RESULTS: Bengaluru Bulls 47 bt Dabang Delhi 43; Telugu Titans 19 lost to Gujarat Giants 30; Bengal Warriors 25 lost to U Mumba 36.