PKL 2018, Bengaluru Bulls vs Pink Panthers: Pawan's Super 10 ensures top spot for the Bulls

The final day of the Pro Kabaddi League Season 6's league stage kicked off as the Zone B table-toppers Bengaluru Bulls went up against Jaipur Pink Panthers in an inter-zone wildcard match at the Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose Indoor Stadium in Kolkata.

The Bengaluru Bulls were defeated last night by the home side Bengal Warriors in a closely contested affair but managed to get a point from the game.

They aimed to get a win or at least a point against the Pink Panthers to maintain their position atop the Zone B standings. The raiding duo of Pawan Kumar Sehrawat and Rohit Kumar will be hoping to carry on their momentum heading into the playoff encounters.

Jaipur Pink Panthers came into this fixture on the back of an inconsistent run at their home leg in Panchkula with two wins in their last six matches.

Deepak Niwas Hooda has been the key man for them after hitting form in the second half of the season and will aim to end the season on a high.

The defence did well in Panchkula with the corner-cover combination of Sandeep Kumar Dhull and Sunil Siddhgavali who will have their task cut out to keep the Bengaluru Bulls' raiders in check.

The first half of the match saw the Bengaluru Bulls gain a slight advantage from the starting whistle with Pawan Kumar Sehrawat keeping the Jaipur defence on their toes.

However, Deepak Niwas Hooda was equally lethal for the Panthers keeping the scores close throughout the half. Bengaluru Bulls inflicted the all-out in the final two minutes of the half.

Rohit Kumar was kept quiet for a long time managing to score his lone point in the first half in the 19th minute. At the end of the half, the Bulls led 19-16 over the Pink Panthers.

Bengaluru Bulls continued to maintain their advantage in the second half of the match. Pawan Kumar Sehrawat's raiding and strong defence from the Bulls got them another all-out on the Pink Panthers.

Both Pawan Kumar Sehrawat and Deepak Niwas Hooda got their Super 10s on the night. Bengaluru Bulls won the match, in the end, to maintain their top spot in Zone B as the scoreboard read 40-32 in their favour.

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Bengaluru Bulls

Bengaluru Bulls' defence did well in the second half

Rohit Kumar - (6/10)

Bengaluru Bulls' skipper Rohit Kumar had a quiet first half putting in six empty raids and managing to score his first point in the 19th minute. He pulled off a great Super Raid in the second half in a do-or-die situation and ended the match with five raid points.

Pawan Kumar Sehrawat - (9/10)

The in-form raider was in stellar form in the first half managing to score eight raid points with his intense raiding. He managed to get his Super 10 in the second half and triggered the second all-out on the Panthers with a couple of fine raids and finished with sixteen raid points.

Sumit Singh - (6/10)

The all-rounder replaced Kashiling Adake in the starting seven tonight and did well as the third raider picking up key points to revive the major raiders. He finished with four raid points tonight.

Mahender Singh - (5/10)

Mahender Singh played on the right cover position and did well to support his corner defenders with dashes. He finished with three tackle points in the second half of the match.

Ashish Kumar Sangwan - (5/10)

Ashish Kumar Sangwan had a quiet first half of the match and contributed with his support to his teammates. He managed to get three tackle points on the night in four attempted tackles.

Amit Sheoran - (7/10)

Amit Sheoran was in good form on the left corner for the Bulls contributing with timely dashes on the Jaipur raiders and had three tackle points in the first half.

Raju Lal Choudhary - (3/10)

The right corner defender was inefficient with his tackle attempts and failed to pick up any tackle point tonight.

Jaipur Pink Panthers

Deepak Niwas Hooda was in fine form tonight

Deepak Niwas Hooda - (9/10)

The Jaipur Pink Panthers skipper continued his form on the mat keeping the Jaipur scoreboard ticking with his eight raid points in the first half including three bonus points. He had a quiet second half but got his Super 10 late in the match and had thirteen raid points on the night.

Ajinkya Pawar - (3/10)

The young raider had a tough time to get points in the first half managing just one point in four attempted raids. He was replaced in the second half as Gangadhari Mallesh came on.

K Selvamani - (7.5/10)

The lanky raider used his frame well to pick up four points in the first half including a couple of bonus points. He continued to pick timely bonus points and scored eight points on the night including one tackle point.

Sandeep Kumar Dhull - (6/10)

Sandeep Kumar Dhull operated on the left corner and was a bit hasty with his tackle attempts and had just one tackle point in the first half. He did better in the second half scoring a Super Tackle and ending the match with four tackle points.

Sunil Siddhgavali - (2.5/10)

The cover defender Sunil Siddhgavali was targeted on a couple of occasions by the Bulls' raiders with running hand touches. He ended the match with no tackle points and conceded five touch poins in total on the night.

Amit Kumar - (5/10)

The all-rounder played a handy role in both the attack and defence for the Jaipur Pink Panthers tonight. He scored one tackle point and had two raid point as well.

Santhapanaselvam - (3/10)

Santhapanselvam had a tough time in the first half conceding a couple of touch points and did not get a tackling point. He managed to get one tackle point in the second half of the match.

Substitutes:

Gangadhari Mallesh - (2.5/10)

The Indian international came off the bench in the second half to replace Ajinkya Pawar in the lineup.

Lokesh Kaushik - (4/10)

The defender came on late in the match but managed to pick up two raid points with good tackles on the Bulls' top raiders.