Bengaluru: UP Yoddha, the GMR Group owned franchise in PKL, went down to Bengaluru Bulls 26-31. UP Yoddha, are now placed sixth in the points table with 41 points.
The famed defensive wall for the Yoddha’s rose up to the occasion to help them secure a single point in the losing cause after a lacklustre performance from the raiding. Captain Nitesh Kumar was the stand-out performer for UP Yoddha earning crucial six points.
Shrikant Jadhav was the only other player who earned six points for the Yoddha’s. Nitesh got a much needed support from his fellow defenders Sumit and Ashu Singh who added 4 points and 3 points respectively.
The Yoddha’s will now face 3rd placed Patna Pirates next on 2nd February, 2022. This game would be broadcasted live, 7:30 PM onwards on the Star Sports Network and Disney+ Hotstar.
The match started on an even note with both teams exchanging points for points early on as the score board read 4-4 at the 5th minute. Nitesh Kumar stepped up earning 3 tackle points in the first 7 minutes from three different tackle techniques,
pinning down Bulls Pawan Sehrawat thrice. The Yoddhas lost their lead due to some careless raiding and found themselves trailing Bengaluru Bulls 7-9 at the 12th minute. The Yoddha’s inflicted a Super Tackle as they reduced the deficit to a solitary point,
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trailing 9-10 at the 15th minute. Moments later the Yoddha’s were hurt by an ‘All-Out’ and the Bengaluru Bulls raced ahead leading 9-15 at the 16th minute.
The Yoddha’s tried making a comeback through Shrikant Jadav but Bengaluru Bulls maintained their lead with the first half coming to an end with the Yoddha’s trailing 13-18.
UP Yoddha’s lack of form continued in the second half as well giving away points early on, which saw them trailing 15-23 at the 24th minute.
UP Yoddha increased their pace and earned back-to-back points, cutting down the lead to 19-24 with the help of Shrikant Jadav & Nitesh Kumar,
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however the Yoddha’s worries got bigger when Bengaluru Bulls scraped their way back in the game from a possible ‘All Out’ by inflicting a ‘Super Tackle’ that saw UP Yoddha trail 19-26 at the 31st minute.
The Yoddha’s gave away quick points thereafter as Bengaluru Bulls raced ahead, extending their lead further to 21-30 at the 36th minute. With 3 minutes left in the game,
the Yoddha’s made a valiant effort to stage a comeback through a ‘Super Tackle’ that reduced the deficit to 23-30.
Thereafter the Yoddha’s tried catching up through some quick points from Surender Gill and some solid defending from Nitesh Kumar but could couldn’t close the game to a desired result. The game came to an end with UP Yoddha losing 26-31 to Bengaluru Bulls.
