Bharat’s super 10 was the major difference as the Bengaluru Bulls beat the Tamil Thalaivas 38-37 in the Southern Derby to finish their year perfectly at the Noida Indoor Stadium on Sunday.
As was the template of the whole match, it was a close tie for the first five minutes of the match as their star raider Narender grabbed most of the opportunities that he got to give the Thalaivas the lead. With the score reading 10-7, the Bengaluru Bulls found themselves with just three defenders on the mat. However, this presented them with the perfect opportunity to grab a super tackle as left cover Parteek rendered Ajinkya Pawar’s raid unsuccessful.
The clash kept the fans on the edge of their seats as the two Southern rivals won points off each other regularly to keep the game very closely matched. Narender continued to perform for the Thalaivas in the first half, winning more than half the points for his side.
It was a super tackle that saved the Bengaluru Bulls after Saurabh Nandal got the initial grab on the opponent raider. But once again, the side representing Tamil Nadu had the last laugh in the first half, after Bharat’s unsuccessful raid for the Bulls meant all out points for the Thalaivas as the score read 20-17 heading into the second 20 minutes.
A super raid minutes into the first half took the Bengaluru-based side above their rivals. Star Bulls raider Vikash Kandola got Mohit, Sahil Gulia and M Abishek at one go as the topsy-turvy nature of the game continued to dominate proceedings. A point for one team was negated the other. Then, it was the Thalaivas who made the most of the super tackle opportunities that came their way.
First, Vikash Kandola was stopped by substitute Sagar, and then the Bulls raider failed in a do-or-die raid. Soon after, Neeraj Narwal was stopped by Iranian Amirhossein Bastami, as the Thalaivas began to run away with the points. When the match seemed to be tilting to one side, another ALL OUT, with Kandola successful this time for the Bulls, meant that the game was sure to go into the final five minutes still tied on points.
Despite the resilience of the Thalaivas, with Narender getting a brilliant SUPER 10 and ending with 12 points in total, it was the Bengaluru Bulls who eventually prevailed in the ‘Semma’ South Indian derby. Bharat’s SUPER 10, coupled with some excellent defending from his teammates against the likes of Narender and Ajinkya Pawar, ensured that the Bengaluru-based team entered the new year on a high.
