Pawan Sehrawat’s heroic rescue act helps Bengaluru Bulls earn tie against Telugu Titans

A quick touch point and an assertive tackle from Pawan Sehrawat in the final two raids of the match helped Bengaluru Bulls secure a 34-34 tie against the Telugu Titans on Saturday. Chandran Ranjit led the Bulls with nine points, while the Titans’ Ankit Beniwal scored his maiden Super 10.

The Titans started brighter of the two sides but couldn’t pull away on the scoreboard primarily due to Chandran Ranjit’s solid work on offence. Rakesh Gowda’s two-point raid in the 10^th minute saw Telugu take a three-point lead.

The Bulls were left with just two men on the mat and looked dangerously close to conceding an All Out. But Bharat’s bonus point and a Super Tackle from Amit Sheoran kept the All Out at bay and brought parity on the scoreboard. Ranjit added a couple of more points to his team’s total, and the Bulls suddenly found themselves leading by two.

The Titans, however, wrestled their way back into the lead with three unanswered points and left the Bulls with only two men on the mat. More GB came off the bench to score a bonus point for the Bulls and then aided the defence in Super Tackling Rohit Kumar to ensure the Bulls go into the break leading 14-12.

The Titans finally snatched the lead courtesy of Ankit Beniwal and soon found themselves leading by two points. The Bulls, however, rose to the Titans’ challenge and answered with three straight points to take the lead. Bengaluru maintained their one-point lead until the 35^th minute, but a Super Raid from Adarsh T left the Bulls with two men on the mat.

Ranjit yet again stood between the Bulls and an All Out, scoring two points to help his side maintain their slender lead and keep the All Out at bay. But the Titans finally managed to make their advantage count, as Rohit Kumar scored his first point of the season and Sandeep Kandola pinned down Chandran Ranjit to help Telugu inflict an All Out and take the lead.

A couple of stellar blocks from Surinder Singh and C Arun pushed the Titans’ advantage to three with under a minute left in the game. The Bulls’ defence managed to pin down Beniwal in a Do-or-die raid, and Sehrawat quickly added another point to his team’s tally to cut the deficit to just one.

Rohit Kumar came in for the game’s final raid against a Bulls defence forced to guard the baulk line. Rohit attempted a Running Hand Touch but was promptly tackled down by Sehrawat, ensuring the game finished in a tie.

Top Performers

Bengaluru Bulls

Best Raider – Chandran Ranjit (9 Raid Points)

Best Defender – Saurabh Nandal (4 Tackle Points)

Telugu Titans

Best Raider – Ankit Beniwal (10 Raid Points)

Best Defender – Sandeep Kandola (4 Tackle Points)