Bengaluru Bulls vs Tamil Thalaivas: The Southern Derby

Bengaluru Bulls and Tamil Thalaivas are among the franchises with a huge fanbase, even at the grassroots level. Both teams have loyal supporters who stand by their side irrespective of their performances. These teams are known for producing stars. The Bengaluru Bulls gave their fans an unforgettable moment to rejoice when they lifted the Pro Kabaddi League trophy in the sixth edition. On the other hand, Tamil Thalaivas is still in the hunt for their maiden PKL trophy. Their best performance came in Season 9 when they made it to the semi-final. Bengaluru Bulls and Tamil Thalaivas have played 14 matches against each other. Bengaluru Bulls have triumphed on 11 occasions, while Tamil Thalaivas have emerged victorious thrice in PKL history.

Here we take a look at some of the top contests between these two southern teams.

Season 10, Match 50:

Pro Kabaddi League Season 10, Match 50 looked evenly poised in the early stages of the game. Narender was seen going all guns blazing for the Thalaivas and kept his side ahead in the game. However, Bengaluru Bulls' Parteek produced a Super Tackle against Tamil Thalaivas' Ajinkya Pawar.

The game was proving to be an edge-of-the-seat thriller as the two southern sides won points off each other regularly. The Bulls' defence fought back well, but they headed into the second half with the score reading 20-17 in favour of the Thalaivas.

Vikash Kandola started the second half with a bang as he earned a Super Raid to take the Bulls ahead of their rivals. A point for one team was negated by the other. Then, it was Sagar who came up with a Super Tackle to help the Thalaivas maintain their lead.

The Thalaivas' defence looked in total control as they began to run away with the points. When the match seemed to be tilting to one side, Bengaluru Bulls inflicted an All-Out to lead the game by a point. It was difficult to predict a winner as the game was shifting with each passing raid. The Bulls managed to hold their nerve in the dying moments to clinch a nail-biting game with a scoreline of 38-37.

Season 7, Match 70:

When Bengaluru Bulls and Tamil Thalaivas met in Match 70 of Season 7, both teams had formidable stars in their lineups. The southern sides took their time to get going on the mat, and the Bulls managed to stay ahead in the first 10 minutes of the game. Tamil Thalaivas tried their best to add crucial points and overtake their neighbours, but the Rohit Kumar-led Bengaluru Bulls kept calm and managed to maintain a slender 14-13 lead at the end of the first half.

Immediately after the start of the second half, Tamil Thalaivas levelled the score courtesy of a tackle from Rahul Chaudhari. However, Pawan Sehrawat, who was magnificent that season, continued to prove to be the most important asset for the Bulls and led the scoring to keep his side in the lead.

A combination tackle from Thalaivas was needed to send the dangerous Pawan Sehrawat to the bench. The Bulls' captain, Rohit Kumar, followed Pawan to the bench after another Super Tackle came in from the Thalaivas. Ajay Thakur-led Tamil Thalaivas were eyeing a comeback, but Bengaluru Bulls stood strong and inflicted an All-Out with around four minutes remaining in the contest. The Thalaivas pushed themselves to turn things around and stay in the hunt, but the Bulls took control of the game to wrap things up with a 33-27 win over their neighbours.

Season 5, Match 12:

Bengaluru Bulls were off to a solid start in Match 12 of Pro Kabaddi League Season 5 against Tamil Thalaivas. They pushed Tamil Thalaivas on the back foot with an All-Out in the first seven minutes of the match. Rohit Kumar was leading the Bulls by example, while his opposite number, Ajay Thakur, was looking to get into the groove for the Thalaivas. It was K. Prapanjan who took the scoring responsibility on his behalf and earned crucial raid points for his side.

The Thalaivas' defence couldn’t complement Prapanjan’s hard work and were seen making errors on the mat. Nothing was going Tamil Thalaivas' way as they succumbed under pressure with another All-Out with less than five minutes left in the first half. Bengaluru Bulls extended their lead to 16 points with the score reading 21-5 in their favour. They went into the second half with a 15-point advantage over the Thalaivas.

Rohit Kumar’s Bengaluru Bulls continued from where they left off in the first half and looked in a commanding position. Ajay Thakur went into raid when the Super Tackle opportunity was on for the Bulls on two occasions but fell prey to their in-form defence. Going into the final 10 minutes, Bengaluru Bulls were leading the encounter with a scoreline of 28-15.

Straight after, things changed for the better for the Thalaivas as they claimed an All-Out to break the Bulls’ momentum. This also boosted the Thalaivas' confidence and gave them the self-belief to come back stronger. Ajay Thakur added crucial points, and the defence also chipped in to help Tamil Thalaivas get back in the contest. They were piling up points, whereas the Bulls were finding it difficult to add points to their tally. With under a minute left, the Thalaivas drew themselves closer and were trailing by only one point when Rohit Kumar added a valuable raid point for the Bulls in a Do-or-Die raid. K. Prapanjan could only manage to get a touch-point in the penultimate raid. Rohit used his experience and completed an empty raid to hand a thrilling 32-31 win to his side against Tamil Thalaivas.

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