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It has been some time since we've seen the Bengaluru Bulls in action. After almost a week off, Rohit Kumar's side were in action once more, but it was not a happy return for them as they could not get the better of a tactical Bengal Warriors. The Warriors took this one 32-26.
Dabang Delhi and U Mumba were involved in a much tighter battle in the second encounter. Leading much of the way, Dabang ultimately picked up a 33-32 win over Mumba to reverse the result from their earlier encounter this season. Both captains - Anup Kumar and Meraj Sheykh - were in terrific form. Despite Mumba's late charge though it was to be yet another loss.
#1 Bulls and Ravinder Pahal see red
If there's one thing that has been noticeable so far in Season 5 is that the officials have been quick to clamp down on any and every form of dissent and unacceptable behaviour out on the mat from the players. We have seen plenty of green cards being issued, a handful of yellows as well which have sent a player to the sin bin. Today we saw the very first red card.
The Bulls were down both on the scoreboard and out on the mat early in the second half and as Jang Kun Lee came in to raid in the fifth minute of the second half with the Bulls down to just two men, they had the chance to effect a Super Tackle. All rounder Gurvinder Singh and right corner defender Ravinder Pahal were the two Bulls on the mat.
The duo combined to effect a good tackle on Lee that brought him down, but with the umpire's whistle not forthcoming Lee continued to try and wriggle around in an attempt to break free. Gurvinder seemed to not quite fully have his man and Lee eventually managed to get his hand over the midline.
Lee was given the successful raid by the officials that left Pahal fuming. He went on to admonish the officials in a manner that was completely unbecoming and the officials were quick to reprimand him by dishing out the season's first red card. The card seemed to anger him all the more to the point that it required intervention from Bulls management to finally usher him off.
#2 Surjeet - the star on the night
The captain of the Bengal Warriors has a good record when it comes to encounters against the Bengaluru Bulls. His counterpart on the night, Rohit Kumar, is the more famous of the two, but on this night, it was Surjeet who dominated.
The Services man had eight tackle points on the night, the vast majority of which came in the very first half. Surjeet had started to flicker into life in the last few encounters after having a quiet start and he led a superb defensive performance from the Warriors that snuffed out the challenge of the Bulls.
All of Bengaluru's raiders were kept quiet as they simply could not get anything going. Rohit Kumar was sent packing to the bench numerous times. Most of the 7 points he scored came in the final few minutes when the Warriors already had this contest in the bag.
#3 Young Shrikant Jadhav steps up for U Mumba
Despite having Anup Kumar, Shabeer Bapu and Kashiling Adake in their ranks, U Mumba have struggled in the raiding department. Much of that has been down to the struggles of Kashi and Shabeer who have been unable to lead the attack effectively. Shabeer didn't start the last game and didn't take to the mat tonight either.
In need of some bite in the raiding department, young Shrikant Jadhav stepped up to the plate for the home side. Shrikant had seven points on the night, six of which were raid points. He was effective in going deep into the Delhi defence and drawing their defenders out.
U Mumba need someone to consistently contribute raid points as Anup cannot do all the heavy lifting at this stage in his career. Darshan Kadian, Nitin Madane and Shrikant Jadhav are all jostling for that position of the key raider in this setup and Shrikant did his case a lot of good with his performance tonight.
#4 Captains lead the way for Mumba and Dabang
After Surjeet's stellar showing for the Bengal Warriors in the first game of the night, the captains continued to shine in the second. Both Anup Kumar and Meraj Sheykh had Super 10s as they led the way for U Mumba and Dabang Delhi respectively.
Meraj hasn't reached the heights of his previous seasons thus far in Season 5. Tonight though, he looked hungry. The flamboyance was back, the restless movement was back, the spring in his step was back.
It translated nicely in his performances as he picked up a Super 10 finishing with 11 points on the night. It wasn't just the points, it was the smarts that he showed as well. With the first half winding down and his side leading 15-13, Meraj looked to be taking back an empty raid. However, just before he could cross the mid-line, he noticed Kuldeep advancing towards him and went back for a quick touch that caught the Mumba defender unawares.
A lot of defences tend to do this; on this occasion though, they were punished. Meraj also had the number of Surinder Singh and Hadi Oshtorak, key defenders of the Mumba side.
Like his counterpart, Anup gave it his all in an attempt to salvage something for his side. His side were always in touch, but couldn't quite get over the hump in the end. Anup matched Meraj on the night with 11 raid points, but his points came off fewer raids, just 17 which showcased a greater conversion rate.
With his defence leaking points, it was the raiding department that needed to prop up his side. Ultimately, the burden proved too much and it was a narrow loss for his side by one point.
#5 Improvements for U Mumba, but struggles continue
Initially, this season, Mumba's struggles lay in the raiding department. Their defence was keeping their ship somewhat afloat despite their raiders not firing, especially Kashiling Adake and Shabeer Bapu. Surinder Singh looked a good promising defender on the right corner and overall their defence was the better unit.
Lately, their raiders have gotten better - Shabeer had a good game against the Yoddha but has not started the last two games while Kashi flickers on and off during games and hasn't quite managed to take a game by the scruff of the neck. Today, Shrikant Jadhav stepped up to help Anup in raiding.
The defence though took a nosedive gifting points to Dabang Delhi with silly errors. Surinder was a walking disaster displaying rank impatience that cost his side on numerous occasions.
Since the start of this home leg, Surinder has shifted to the cover position while Hadi Oshtorak has come into the right corner position and it has not worked. The defence has been leaky all through this home leg and it is no surprise they are yet to win a game at home.
They have a day's break. Will they make any more tweaks to remedy things? Mumba need to stop taking one step forward and two steps back.
