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Pardeep Narwal, Surender Gill lead UP Yoddhas to second win of 2022 PKL, beat Bengaluru Bulls 44-37
Pardeep Narwal and Surender Gill scored 14 points each as the UP Yoddha took their second win of the season.
Pardeep Narwal did what he did best and led the UP Yoddhas to a 44-37 win over the Bengaluru Bulls. Narwal scored 14 points and he was backed up by Surender Gill, who also scored as many as the Yoddhas recorded their second win of the season. After a cautious start, where both teams traded the first few points between each other, the Yoddhas started to build a slight advantage.
Despite the minimal margin between them on the scoreboard, in reality, the Bulls' points were coming from bonuses, while the Yoddhas were getting touch points and driving their opponents off the mat with ease. This momentum paid dividends halfway through the first period, as the Yoddhas initiated the first all out of the game, to build a five-point advantage.
From there, the Yoddhas didn't let up. Right off the bat, just as all seven Bulls players got back on the mat, Pardeep Narwal's super raid took four of them — Aman, Rajnesh, Neeraj Narwal, Saurabh Nandal — back out again. Minutes after the first one, the Yoddhas had another all out to take a comprehensive lead at 21-11. Narwal's raiding streak kicked off from there, as he picked up points on three consecutive raids to help his team build the advantage. The Yoddhas went into half-time leading at 26-12.
Narwal's amazing run continued well into the second half, as the vivo Pro Kabaddi League all-time topscorer, racked up raid points constantly to pull the Yoddhas far out of sight. His contribution wasn't in isolation though, with his raiding partner, Surender Gill equally efficient, completing his own 10 points silently while Narwal raked in the plaudits. The Yoddhas got a third all out to widen their lead at 37-16 and at that time, the game effectively was over for the Bulls.
Playing for pride, the Bulls picked up the quality of their game, and initiated an all out of their own. The burst of energy at the end helped them claw back to within seven, and take a consolation point from the encounter.
