PKL season 5:Bengaluru Bulls beat Tamil Thalaivas by 32-31
Tamil Thalaivas scored 23 points in a single half against Bengaluru Bulls. But that came on the back of a first half performance so bad that they ended up losing the match by a point. The Thalaivas were bossed by Bengaluru Bulls in the first half. They forced two all outs and seldom gave any points away while defending. This meant that the final score at the end of the match was 32-31 in favour of the Bulls. As Thakur would later admit in the post match press conference, it was their horror show in the first half that chiefly cost them the match.
The first three raids of the match were all empty ones and that was the only time when Tamil Thalaivas and Bengaluru Bulls were well and truly on level terms in that first half. Rohit Kumar got the first point of the match. Ajay Thakur, on the other hand, was dismissed in his next raid. It was the story of the first half. Rohit Kumar was successful in getting points during his raids while Ajay Thakur was anything but. So poor were the Thalaivas in defence that they were All-Out twice in the first half itself. Bengaluru Bulls were just as nippy with their corners closing in on the raider as soon as the opportunity presented itself. At half time, the score was 23-8 in favour of the Bengaluru Bulls.
It looked like the match is well and truly sealed at that point. No team could possibly overturn a 15-point deficit. But that is almost what the Thalaivas managed to achieve. They took the first three points of the second half. Bengaluru then pulled further away when they Super Tackled Ajay Thakur. But then, the Thalaivas kept at it. They were a different team in the second half. The corners were sharper and they were showing more urgency in their raids. They also started getting the points to show and soon scored as many in the first 10 minutes of the second half as they managed in the entirety of the first.
Soon, the Bulls were All-Out for the first time in the match and the score was 30-18. Nine minutes remained in the match. Thakur then managed two points in his raid which took the Thalaivas’ total to 21. A tackle on Rohit Kumar then took the score to 31-22 with five minutes remaining. Suddenly, it seemed possible. Despite the odds being stacked against them, the Thalaivas were putting in all the preparations of turning the tables on Bengaluru Bulls.
They managed to inflict a second all out and the score became 31-28. A successful raid by Prapanjan and a technical point brought the Thalaivas’ score to 30. Rohit Kumar then raided successfully, completing his Super 10. It would prove to be one of the most important points for Bengaluru in the entire match. That took Bengaluru’s tally to 32, just one more than what the Tamil Thalaivas managed before the end of the second half.
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