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The Bengal Warriors kicked off their home leg with a 27-24 win over the Tamil Thalaivas at the Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose Indoor Stadium in Kolkata.
The hosts started strong as they led 3-2 but were soon facing a deficit as a four-point raid from Sukesh Hegde saw the Thalaivas ease into the lead. However, that lead was soon quelled by a super raid from Jang Kun Lee as the Korean equalized scores in the seventh minute.
Yet, it was a story of the raiders making merry in the opening half as the hosts picked up just three tackle points while the Thalaivas had two to their credit as the two teams shared honors with the scores on 15-15 at the break.
The hosts started with four men on the mat and were soon down to two men before a super tackle from Jang Kun Lee on Ajay Thakur swung the momentum in favor of the Warriors. With ten minutes left on the clock and both the teams opting for a cautious approach, the Warriors enjoyed only a slender one-point lead.
With a little under two minutes left on the clock, skipper Surjeet Singh picked his first tackle point with a block on Ajay Thakur as the hosts raced away to a four-point lead that also saw the Thalaivas left with just three men on the mat.
In the end, the Warriors played out the clock as the Bengal Warriors cruised away to a 27-24 win against the Tamil Thalaivas. Korean Jang Kun Lee was the star of the show with a 'Super-10' while left corner Ran Singh picked up four points.
Here are the player ratings from this game.
Tamil Thalaivas
Ajay Thakur - 6/10
The Thalaivas' skipper was happy to tack the backseat in the first half as he picked up only two points at the beginning of the game before letting Sukesh Hegde and Athul MS do the bulk of raiding. In the second half, the Thalaivas skipper picked up two vital points to finish with five points in all.
Sukesh Hegde - 7.5/10
Sukesh Hegde produced a magical four-point super raid early in the first half and added three more points to finish the opening half with seven points. In the second half, he added two more points and ended one-point shy of a 'Super-10'.
Athul MS - 5/10
The lanky raider used his height to good effect and collected two important points but his effectiveness on the Do or Die raids stood out in the first half.
C Arun - 6/10
The cover defender was not in the best of form as he made a few expensive dashes that gifted Maninder Singh some easy points. Yet, he made a comeback in the second half to pick up two points, including a colossal dash on Jang Kun Lee.
Amit Hooda - 4/10
Hooda was unlike his regular self as he was often caught off-guard by Jang Kun Lee's kicks and toe touches.
Sunil - 3/10
Thalaivas' left corner had a very quiet game as Sunil made three unsuccessful tackles to finish off the game with a dismal show.
P Subramaniam - 5.5/10
Subramaniam was quite often the target for Maninder Singh but the right cover did well to dash out the raider on one occasion as well. The cover defender finished with two points from the game.
SUBSTITUTES
D Pradap - 3/10
The youngster stepped in for the lone Do or Die raid and was pinned down by an ankle hold from Ran Singh on the left corner.
Bengal Warriors
Surjeet Singh - 5.5/10
Surjeet had an off-color first half as his dashes on Sukesh Hegde ended up conceding points in the opening half. Surjeet's only point came off a decisive front block on his opposite number in the final minutes of the game.
Maninder Singh - 7/10
The Warriors' lead raider started strong with two touch points in a row after which he added three more points to finish with five points in the first half. In the end, Maninder finished with seven raid points in all.
Jang Kun Lee - 8.5/10
The Korean had a good game as he picked up an important super raid to equalize scores early in the first half and with seven raid points from the first half, was the star for the Warriors. In the second half, his super tackle on Ajay Thakur was also an important moment in the game as the Korean finished with a 'Super-10' on the day.
Ravindra Kumawat - 4/10
The all-rounder was subbed off very early in the first half but came back for a few Do-or-Die raids, where he failed to pick up any point.
Ran Singh - 6/10
The veteran left corner looked solid with his support from the right corner and also picked up an important point with a tackle on Athul MS before bringing the same man down to pick a super tackle in the second half.
Baldev Singh - 5/10
The right corner made a fine impression with a double ankle hold that resulted in a super tackle in the final minutes of the first half but a poor back hold awarded an easy point to Hegde.
Ziaur Rehman - 5/10
The cover defender did not pick any points of his own but was a vital cog in supporting his teammates with some strong dashes.
SUBSTITUTES
Manoj Dhull - 3/10
The youngster was subbed in during the second half but a couple of unsuccessful tackles saw him warming the benches yet again.
Vijin Thangadurai - 6/10
The youngster was brought off the benches in the second half and made an important tackle on Sukesh Hegde, that laid the final nail in the coffin for the Thalaivas.
