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The first day of the inter-zonals saw four teams in action. The first match witnessed Bengal Warriors being bulldozed into submission by Sandeep Narwal's individual brilliance as Puneri Paltan produced another clinical show to reaffirm their fans' faith in them as tournament favourites.
The second match pitted the home team Gujarat Fortunegiants against Rohit Kumar's Bengaluru Bulls where the home team made a brilliant second half comeback to seal their fourth consecutive win of their home leg. The following are five talking points from the day:
#1 The umpiring error that handed Pune the advantage
In the 13th minute of the match, with Bengal Warriors falling behind slightly, Jang Kun Lee came on for a do or die raid. Lee claimed he had Bangladesh’s Ziaur Ur Rehman with a running hand touch. The defender, however, was quick to convey to his captain that he didn’t feel anything and immediately went upstairs.
Lee, though, was confident that he had his man. It was now all down to the TV replays to establish the truth. Unfortunately, that didn’t happen as the replays showed a flutter on Rehman’s shirt as a result of Lee’s touch.
Yet, the decision was overturned and Lee had to grudgingly leave the mat. That left the Warriors with two men on the mat and Sandeep Narwal made light work of them to inflict an All Out in the next raid. Suddenly, the Warriors had fallen behind and they could never recover from that blow.
#2 Sandeep Narwal redeems himself
Sandeep Narwal had an opportunity to become a hero in the dying moments of the last match but he blew it big time. With just two Panthers men on the mat, Narwal had all the time in the world to eliminate the second defender after claiming the first with a touch. Narwal, however, swiftly retreated and missed the chance to secure a dramatic come-from-behind victory.
On Tuesday, however, Narwal played like a man possessed. In the 14th minute, he faced a situation similar to his previous match with two Warriors men on the mat and an All Out waiting to be inflicted. This time Narwal didn’t break sweat, getting the two men with ease and giving his team four points. One can only wonder what went through Narwal’s mind in the match against Jaipur when he decided against attempting an All Out on his last raid, something he executed with such ease, not once but twice, on Tuesday.
#3 Mondal makes an impact straightaway
Puneri Paltan are a team brimming with talent. Such is the quality possessed by the team that Rajesh Mondal, the famed do-or-die raider who has dazzled all these seasons, found himself warming the bench against Bengal Warriors. His job was done exceedingly well by newbie Gurunath More in the last few matches and More continued in the same vein in the fixture against Bengal as well.
It was only in the 24th minute that Mondal found himself on the mat when he came on as a substitute for another youngster the team have reposed their faith in, Rohit Kumar Chaudhary.
Mondal didn’t take too long to make an impact as he first took Surjeet Singh with a toe touch and then went all the way to the left corner to deal with Ran Singh, thereby inflicting an All Out and earning his team four points.
#4 The defence that failed to come to Bangalore's defence
The Bulls unit had won games thanks to Rohit Kumar and Ajay Kumar's individual brilliance and in the first half, it seemed they would coast home again on the back of the former's fine performance. That, however, was not to be. On this occasion, the culprit was the Bulls' defence that gave away all the advantage that the team had fought hard to attain in the first half.
The first half witnessed some fine defending by young Kuldeep, playing his first game at Left Corner. Things went downhill in the second half though as nerves got the better of the Bulls defence in the face of an inspired performance from the Fortunegiants.
The most experienced defender in the team, Ravinder Pahal, thrice made the mistake of trying to tackle a raider too close to the mid line and paid for it. The Fortunegiants' raiding department was one of their weakest links, but the Bulls made a meal of things and ended up conceding a match they should have won without much fuss.
#5 Bengaluru Bulls' second half woes continue
Bengaluru Bulls went into halftime with a solid lead and, for once, it looked like Gujarat Fortunegiants had been brought back down to earth. The home team had nothing going for them in the first half with their much-famed defence accruing a paltry three points while facing up to a marauding Rohit Kumar.
That changed in the second half as the Gujarat defence came into its own, helping the side crawl their way back to eventually win the tie.
This, however, wasn’t the first time the Bulls had struggled in the second half. The team have been guilty of playing things too safe when in a position of strength, allowing the opposition to make a comeback. This could be attributed to the young nature of the squad who struggle to cope with the extreme pressure.
