Pro Kabaddi League 2017: UP Yoddha defeat Bengaluru Bulls in close encounter

Nitin Tomar and Rishank Devadiga performed brilliantly as UP Yoddha beat Bengaluru Bulls in a Pro Kabaddi League (PKL) contest.

UP Yoddha rode on fine performances from captain Nitin Tomar and Rishank Devadiga to register a narrow 32-27 victory over Bengaluru Bulls in a Pro Kabaddi League (PKL) contest at the Mankapur Indoor Stadium in Nagpur on Saturday.

UP Yoddha defeated Bengaluru Bulls in the Pro Kabaddi League 2017. (AP)

Nitin (9 points) and Devadiga (5 points) did the most damage to the opposition with their successful raids helping the Uttar Pradesh outfit clinch victory by five points.

For Bengaluru, captain Rohit Kumar (11 points) who earned a super 10 from his fast paced movement and technique inside the opposition mat was the only hope for the Bulls but failed to help his side take a lead.

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UP Yoddha were off to a good start clinching two bonus points and tackling the opposition raider to add initial points in the tally. Rishank Devadiga did the most damage to the opposition in the first-half with his technique and movement while skipper Nitin Tomar targeted the poor left corner defence of the Bengaluru outfit to earn points. The Uttar Pradesh outfit took a 10-points lead in the first-half with the scoreboard reading 18-8.

For Bengaluru, captain Rohit Kumar brought the first points on board with his successful raids. Ashish Kumar and Mahendra Singh also earned one point each in the first half but failed to give their side a good start.

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In the second-half, Ajay Kumar opened the scoring for Bengaluru but the pressure kept building on Rohit who delivered for his side earning five points from a super-raid for his side and continued to earn points through his successful raids to reduce the deficit by five points but failed to take the lead.

For the Yoddha, Nitin continued his fine run in the second-half helping his side add on to the lead by earning points from touching the bonus line and super-raid.

Both teams earned two points each for all-out but the U.P outfit earned nine points in comparison to Bengaluru’s four points in tackle.