PKL: Bengaluru Bulls decimate Gujarat Giants to clinch semifinal spot

Pawan
Sehrawat
scored
13
points
while
Mahender
clinched
a
High
5
from
the
cover
position.
The
Bulls
outplayed
Gujarat
in
every
department
with
secondary
raiders
Bharat
and
Chandran
Ranjit
also
contributing
to
the
points.

Gujarat
lacked
the
usual
focus
in
the
defence
and
conceded
an
early
lead
which
they
found
difficult
to
chase.
Bengaluru
Bulls
will
now
play
Dabang
Delhi
K.C.
in
the
second
semi-final
on
Wednesday
(23
February).

The
match
had
a
cagey
start
with
both
teams
sizing
each
other
up.
The
defences
made
uncanny
errors
while
raiders
took
a
very
cautious
approach.
But
Bengaluru
slowly
started
dominating
with
their
secondary
raider
Chandran
Ranjit
also
chipping
in
with
valuable
points.
That
double-headed
attack
along
with
Pawan
gave
Bulls
their
first
ALL
OUT
in
the
14th
minute
to
open
a
9-point
lead.

Gujarat
didn’t
let
the
ALL
OUT
affect
them
badly
and
immediately
initiated
a
fightback.
Rakesh
S
and
Pardeep
Kumar
started
dominating
the
raids
and
reduced
Bengaluru
to
just
2
men
on
the
court
in
the
final
minute
of
the
first
half.
But
Mahender
clinched
a
Super
Tackle
right
before
the
interval
to
end
the
half
with
the
scores
24-17.
Gujarat
had
just
1
tackle
point
in
the
first
half.

The
Bulls
prevented
an
early
ALL
OUT
with
another
Super
Tackle
by
Mahender
in
the
first
minute
of
the
second
half.
He
picked
his
High
5
in
the
process
and
Bharat
then
backed
it
up
with
a
4-point
Super
Raid.
The
numerical
advantage
helped
the
Bulls
inflict
another
ALL
OUT
in
the
6th
minute
after
the
restart
to
make
the
scores
35-21.
Pawan
secured
his
Super
10
as
the
Bulls
opened
a
15-point
advantage
with
10
minutes
remaining
in
the
eliminator
round.

The
Bulls
continued
to
dominate
with
their
defence
thwarting
the
Giants
with
ease.
They
had
14
tackle
points
compared
to
Gujarat’s
5
with
5
minutes
remaining.
Bengaluru
was
also
buoyed
by
the
fact
that
both
Bharat
and
Chandran
Ranjit
were
having
a
good
game.
This
ensured
Pawan
spent
very
little
time
in
the
dugout.
The
Season
6
champions
inflicted
another
ALL
OUT
with
3
minutes
remaining
to
make
the
scores
48-28.
The
Bulls’ defenders
kept
calm
in
the
final
minutes
to
clinch
an
important
playoff
win.

Source:
PKL
Media