1. Home
  2. Pro Kabaddi League: Bengaluru Bulls beat Gujarat Fortunegiants, clinch maiden title

Pro Kabaddi League: Bengaluru Bulls beat Gujarat Fortunegiants, clinch maiden title

Agencies
January 6, 2019

Bengaluru, Jan 6: Raider Pawan Sehrawat starred for Bengaluru Bulls as they defeated Gujarat Fortunegiants 38-33 in a pulsating final to lift their maiden Pro Kabaddi League title on Saturday.

Sehrawat accumulated 22 points in his 25 raids and turned the match on its head as he single-handedly took the southern outfit to a memorable win. Their second-best player was Sumit Singh (3 points).

It was heartbreak for Gujarat yet again like the last season, when they ended up as runners-up.

Pawan was the difference between the two teams as he pulled back his side into the game after trailing 9-16 after the first half at the NSCI Dome at Worli.

A resurgent Bengaluru, courtesy Pawan's show, inflicted all-out not once but twice on the Gujarat team to move ahead and then held their nerve to come out triumphant.

Earlier, Bengaluru opened their account by sending off Gujarat's star raider Sachin Tanwar in the opening minute. Gujarat's raider K Prapanjan made it 1-1 after a successful raid.

After Gujarat went ahead 2-1, they brought back Sachin Tanwar. But Pawan Kumar Sehrawat attempted two successful raids to take them 3-2 ahead.

In a final where every point mattered, the two teams were going neck-to-neck with 4-4, after the initial seven minutes of the match.

The two teams showed amazing skills, that included super tackles and raids, and were locked at 7-7 with eight minutes to go for the completion of first half.

But then Gujarat seemed to have found the momentum as they surged ahead 11-7 with a couple of successful raids and tackles. And then Gujarat inflicted an 'all-out' on their opponents to increase their lead to 15-9. At the half-way mark, Gujarat led 16-9.

After the change of ends, Bengaluru, with some fine defence and tackles, made it 17-21.

However, the turning point came when Sehrawat grabbed six points for his side after two successful raids which led to Gujarat's all-out as Bengaluru edged ahead 23-22, with about nine minutes before the final whistle.

Bengaluru and Gujarat were tied at 29-29 at one point. Again it was Pawan, who grabbed two points for his team, to take them 31-29 ahead, with two minutes remaining for the final whistle.

Again a successful raid by Pawan meant that Bengaluru inflicted another 'all-out' and surged 36-30 ahead and then ended the game at 38-33.

Bengaluru went home richer by Rs 3 crore while Gujarat bagged Rs 1.80 crore as prize money. The seventh season of the Pro Kabaddi League will begin in July.

Comments

Add new comment

About text formats
  • Coastaldigest.com reserves the right to delete or block any comments.
  • Coastaldigset.com is not responsible for its readers’ comments.
  • Comments that are abusive, incendiary or irrelevant are strictly prohibited.
  • Please use a genuine email ID and provide your name to avoid reject.
Agencies
July 28,2020

New Delhi, Jul 28: 'Your character stood out for me than the number of runs you scored," said India skipper Virat Kohli while explaining his decision to give opening Mayank Agarwal a Test debut in the 2018-19 Australia series.

Mayank Agarwal had made his Test debut against Australia in the third Test of the four-match series.

Playing the third Test at the Melbourne Cricket Ground, Agarwal managed to register a half-century in his very first innings in the longest format.

"I had seen you play for RCB, even then you played international bowlers with conviction and you would take them on. You were performing in first-class matches in a dominating way. That is something always stood out with you, I would say your character stood out for me than the number of runs. I knew you would be fearless without having any baggage," Kohli told Mayank Agarwal in a video posted on the official website of BCCI.

In the longest format of the game, Agarwal has managed to score 974 runs from 11 matches at an average of 57.29 with three centuries as an opening batsman.

The Indian skipper also explained as to what makes him notice in a player and added that it is important that guys in the team look to face new challenges and emerge triumphantly.

"For me, the biggest marker is how a person approaches the game, so for example when you opened and we made Vihari open with you. The first opportunity we presented Vihari to open the batting, he said yes to it and that matters me to the most," Kohli said.

"I opened in my first series for India, I said yes to this opportunity and things worked out fine for me. So, a guy who wants to get into tough situations will come out either holding his head high or learning from his mistakes," he added.

Kohli and Mayank would soon be seen in action for Royal Challengers Bangalore and Kings XI Punjab respectively in the Indian Premier League (IPL) starting from September 19 in the UAE.

The comparisons between Kohli and Sachin Tendulkar keep on growing and many have picked the current Indian skipper to break the records set by Tendulkar.

Tendulkar called time on his career after registering 100 international centuries, while Kohli currently has 70 centuries across all formats.

At present, Kohli is ranked at the top spot in the ICC ODI rankings while he is in the second place in Tests rankings. Kohli has so far played 86 Tests, scoring 7,240 runs with 27 centuries at an average of 53.62.

His knock of 254 against South Africa at Pune in 2019 remains his highest Test score to date. When it comes to ODIs, the current Indian skipper has played 248 matches and has 43 centuries.

Comments

Add new comment

About text formats
  • Coastaldigest.com reserves the right to delete or block any comments.
  • Coastaldigset.com is not responsible for its readers’ comments.
  • Comments that are abusive, incendiary or irrelevant are strictly prohibited.
  • Please use a genuine email ID and provide your name to avoid reject.
News Network
March 27,2020

New Delhi, Mar 27: Batting maestro Sachin Tendulkar on Friday donated Rs 50 lakh to fight the COVID-19 pandemic, which has so far claimed 17 Indian lives and wreaked havoc globally.

Tendulkar's donation is so far the biggest contribution among India's leading sportspersons, some of whom have pledged their salaries while a few others have donated medical equipment to fight the dreaded outbreak, which has caused more than 24,000 deaths globally.

"Sachin Tendulkar decided to contribute Rs 25 lakh each to Prime Minister's Relief Fund and Chief Minister's Relief Fund in his bid to join the fight against COVID-19. It was his decision that he wanted to contribute to both funds," a source privy to the development, told PTI on conditions of anonymity.

Tendulkar has been associated with a lot of charity work and there has been umpteen times, he has taken up social causes, helped people, which has never been brought to public notice.

Among other prominent cricketers, the Pathan brothers -- Irfan and Yusuf -- donated 4000 face masks to Baroda police and health department while Mahendra Singh Dhoni, through a Pune based NGO, made a contribution of Rs 1 lakh.

Among athletes from other disciplines, wrestler Bajrang Punia and sprinter Hima Das are some of the prominent names to have donated their salaries in the battle against the dreaded virus which has led to a 21-day national lockdown.

Comments

Add new comment

About text formats
  • Coastaldigest.com reserves the right to delete or block any comments.
  • Coastaldigset.com is not responsible for its readers’ comments.
  • Comments that are abusive, incendiary or irrelevant are strictly prohibited.
  • Please use a genuine email ID and provide your name to avoid reject.
News Network
July 16,2020

Kolkata, Jul 16: BCCI president Sourav Ganguly on Wednesday went into home quarantine after his elder brother and Cricket Association of Bengal (CAB) joint secretary Snehasish Ganguly tested positive for Covid-19.

Snehasish, a former Bengal first-class player, has been admitted to the Belle Vue hospital in Kolkata after his COVID report came positive.

"He was suffering from fever for the last few days and his test report came positive today. He's been admitted to Belle Vue Hospital," a CAB official said.

"The reports arrived late in the evening. As per health protocols, even Sourav will have to be in home quarantine for a stipulated period," a source close to the BCCI President added.

Snehasish had shifted to their ancestral house, where Sourav is based, in Behala after his wife and in-laws at his Mominpur residence tested positive for the dreaded virus.

The former India captain was, however, unavailable for a comment on the development.

Recently, during an interview to India Today, Sourav had spoken about how life around him has changed, making people more vulnerable.

"My brother visits our factories everyday and he is more at risk," the former batting star had said

Comments

Add new comment

About text formats
  • Coastaldigest.com reserves the right to delete or block any comments.
  • Coastaldigset.com is not responsible for its readers’ comments.
  • Comments that are abusive, incendiary or irrelevant are strictly prohibited.
  • Please use a genuine email ID and provide your name to avoid reject.