Bengaluru Bulls lift Pro Kabaddi 2018 Cup

Pawan Sehrawat produced a raiding master class to lead Bengaluru Bulls to their maiden title as they were crowned champions of Vivo Pro Kabaddi League season 6. Sehrawat scored 22 raid points as Bengaluru Bulls beat Gujarat Fortune Giants 38-33 in a thrilling final in front of a house packed in Mumbai.

Sehrawat single handedly led Bulls to the title as he turned the match around in the second half with a terrific performance. Gujarat Fortune giants were in the match till the last five minutes and fought really hard but couldn’t contain Sehrawat. Sachin got a super 10 for Gujarat Fortune Giants but just fell short to lead his team to the title.

Bengaluru Bulls got off the mark with a tackle point as they sent Gujarat’s danger man Sachin to the bench. Prapanjan made a successful raid to give Gujarat Fortune giants their first point. Pawan Sehrawat got his point as he secured a bonus as Bengaluru Bulls tied the match at 2-2 after four minutes. It took more than six minutes for Gujarat’s famed defence to get their first tackle point. 

The first half was closely contested as after 10 minutes both teams were level at 6-6. Gujarat Fortune giants burst into life in the last five minutes as they reduced Bengaluru Bulls to lead 10-7. In the 19th minute Prapanjan made a two-point raid to inflict an all-out and give 15-9 lead. At the end of the first half, Gujarat Fortune giants led 16-9. 

Bengaluru Bulls’ defence started the second half strongly as they picked up a couple of tackle points. Gujarat though kept their noses in front till the 27th minute as they maintained a six-point lead. Pawan Sehrawat then turned the match on its head with a slew of successful raids. He picked up a couple of two-point raids including one in the 31st minute that led to Bengaluru Bulls inflicting an all-out and taking 23-22 lead.

Rohit Gulia produced a super raid for Gujarat Fortune giants in the 36th minute as they led 27-25. Pawan Sehrawat picked a couple of more points and Mahendra put in a strong tackle as Bengaluru Bulls leveled the match at 29-29 in the 37th minute. In the 39th minute Pawan Sehrawat made a two-point raid as Bengaluru Bulls inflicted a critical all out to lead 36-29.  Gujarat Fortune giants picked up a few raid points as they trailed 32-37 in the last minute. Sehrawat produced another two-point raid as Bengaluru inflicted another all out in the 39th minute as they were crowned champions for the first time.

Patna Pirates won Pro Kabaddi 2017

Patna Pirates came back from an early 7-point deficit to win 55-38 in the VIVO Pro Kabaddi Season 5 final against Gujarat Fortunegiants in Chennai. After failing to score big in the two previous encounters against Gujarat, Pardeep Narwal finally came good and scored 19 points to seal a third victory for his side. Monu Gayat and Vijay supported Pardeep well to make life even more difficult for the Fortunegiants.

Rakesh Narwal and Monu effected big raids early on for their respective teams but the Gujarat defence held steady to inflict the first All-Out of the night on Patna, which gave them a 9-3 lead. Sachin and Sukesh Hegde soon came to the party as well as Gujarat extended their lead to 14-7, bringing Patna down to 4 men in the process. The Pirates ship was steadied by Vijay and Monu though, and a brilliant 5-point super raid by Pardeep finally inflicted an All-Out back on Gujarat as Patna leveled at 15-15. The Pardeep-Monu combination marched on from there to take their team 21-18 ahead at half-time.

Gujarat tried hard to avoid another All-Out in the second half but Pardeep’s raids proved too good for them and they conceded an All-Out in the 4th minute. In spite of a having 29-26 lead, Patna were under pressure as they were brought down to 4 men by Gujarat. But all-rounder Vijay once again rose to the challenge to get his team back in the game before another 5-point raid from Pardeep inflicted a third All-Out on Gujarat, giving his team a huge 38-27 lead. Jaideep, meanwhile, held the Patna defence together and soon reached his High 5.

Patna were down to their last man Pardeep in the 16th minute but the season’s highest-scoring raider helped them avoid an All-Out with a super raid and then the defence responded with a super tackle on Chandran Ranjit to put the pressure back on Gujarat. A fourth Gujarat All-Out with little more than a minute left to play ensured Patna would win with a huge margin. The match finally ended with Patna Pirates winning 55-38 and lifting the trophy for the third time in a row.