Raging Bulls drub Dabang

Bengaluru regain third spot; Pirates win

After two lacklustre performances, Bengaluru Bulls were in quest of a powerful performance to keep their semifinal hopes alive.

At the Sree Kanteerava Indoor Stadium here on Thursday, the hosts finally got back to their winning ways as they drubbed a clueless Dabang Delhi 40-21 in fine style to script their first home win of the season.

The Manjeet Chillar-marshalled side collected the crucial five points for their stellar performance to go third in the table with 38 points from 12 games. The Delhi unit, already out of the tournament, remained at the sixth spot with 26 points.

The Bulls’ victory was a result of a fine all-round show, with the senior players leading by example. In the raiding department, Ajay Thakur was desperate to regain his form and the Himachal player found his touch in style in this crucial encounter. Thakur fuelled his team’s charge in the first half and was instrumental in giving Bulls the momentum. With seven points from the game, Thakur looked good in the match, which is a good sign for the Bulls.

Having shown weak reflexes in their defeats to Mumbai and Jaipur, the Bulls’ defence showed great improvement thanks to the young Somvir Shekhar who was brilliant with his daring approach and clever tackling skills.

After inflicting two all-outs in the first half, the hosts went into the break with the score reading 21-8. In the second half, the experienced Dharmaraj Cheralathan (8) played a key role with his raiding to increase the lead further as the Bulls never looked back. 

Patna clinch thriller
Earlier, Patna Pirates pulled off a last gasp 34-32 victory over Bengal Warriors to stay in the semifinal race.

In a thrilling encounter, both the teams fought hard till the end but the Pirates saw off immense pressure in the final few minutes to climb to fifth spot with 30 points from 11 games. Bengal, with 22 points from 13 games, crashed out of the tournament.