Hyderabad : An inspired second-half performance by Bharat powered the Bengaluru Bulls to yet another comeback victory in the Pro Kabaddi League (PKL) Season 9 as they defeated Dabang Delhi K.C. 52-49 at the Gachibowli Indoor Stadium on Sunday.
Bharat’s superb haul of 23 points, the most by a raider in a single game this season, were supported by Vikash Kandola’s 10 as the Bulls took a valuable win. Delhi’s Naveen registered a mere two points in the first half, but around him, everyone thrived.
Ashu Malik and Vijay Malik ran riot through a porous Bulls defence racking up touchpoints with ease. At the other end, Amit Hooda and Vishal were exemplary in containing Bharat and Vikash Kandola — the defence chiefly responsible for the huge gap in points.
The team from the capital city registered its first All-Out of the evening within eight minutes to go into a 13-7 lead. The pattern continued and with five minutes left as they inflicted a second All-Out to surge into a 13-point lead.
However, Bulls’ Kandola pulled off a Super Raid on Sandeep Dhull, Vishal and Ravi Kumar just before halftime, but Delhi still held the lead at 25-16. The Bulls raced out of the blocks in the second period and inflicted an All-Out of their own to cut down the lead to 27-18.
At the key moments though Dabang kept the pressure on as they got their third All-Out of the evening to wrest back a 10-point lead. The final five minutes were a frenzy of points, the Bulls famed for their comebacks this season sticking true to form.
Bharat, in particular, was sensational, picking up multiple points with almost every raid, and single-handedly destroying Delhi’s lead. The Bulls inflicted another All-Out with three minutes left to cut the lead down to three.
From there the momentum shifted. With ninety seconds on the clock, the Bulls inflicted another All-Out to streak into a 51-46 lead, the first time they did so in the game. The Bulls held on to the lead for the rest of the game to take a valuable victory.