Bengaluru: Gujarat Giants beat defending champions Bengal Warriors 34-25 in a Pro Kabaddi League match on Tuesday.
In another match, Bengaluru Bulls beat UP Yoddhas 31-26 to remain second in the standings behind Dabang Delhi (53 points) with 51 points.
In the first match, Ajay Kumar picked nine points and was supported by Pardeep Kumar with seven for Gujarat.
For Bengal, captain Maninder Singh scored nine points but had a difficult time on the mat against a well-drilled Gujarat unit marshalled by Parvesh Bhainswal and Sunil Kumar.
It was the Gujarat who took an early lead in the match but the lead kept changing hands in the first half. Gujarat led through a 3-point Super Raid by Pardeep Kumar in the ninth minute.
Bengal immediately clawed their way back with a 2-point raid by Maninder Singh. Both defences opted for a high line which meant there were no bonus points on offer.
Gujarat’s Ajay Kumar also chipped in with valuable raid points. The half ended with scores 13-12 in the his team’s favour.
Gujarat coach Manpreet Singh substituted Rakesh Narwal for Rakesh S in the second half and the move proved to be a big decision.
The young raider fetched a 3-point Super Raid in the early minutes which gave the Giants enough momentum to secure an ALL OUT in the seventh minute after the restart.
Gujarat had a 9-point lead going into final five minutes and they extended it with Pardeep Kumar excellent with his raids.
At no point did the lead look in threat despite Maninder Singh’s attempts in the final minutes. They put on a collective effort to ensure Bengal Warriors lost be a 9-point margin.