Kolkata: The setting at the Netaji Indoor Stadium was surreal with psychedelic lights sweeping the matted floor, DJs spinning out chartbusters from Bollywood and Tollywood and celebrities make a beeline to see the game till now pushed to the backburners of the country’s sporting annals. AKFI President Subrata Mukherjee and State Sports Minister Madan Mitra took centre stage along with Abir Chjatterjee, Soham, Rahul, Tridha and Parno with the ageless Usha Utthup belting out chartbusters to a rasping ovation of the 5,000 odd spectators. But the hosts flattered to deceive when it came to the mat war.


The game between Bengal Warriors and Bengaluru Bulls was lost and won in the first 7 minutes after Rajesh Thakur made sure four Bengal Warriors defenders sit out after his first raid. By the time Bengaluru Bulls completed their third raid with Manjeet Chillar (captain), Rajesh Thakur and Rajesh Mondal made sure that they had a 11-2 lead with two lonas. The Bengal franchise came back briefly into the game when Jang Kun Lee and Sanjay Sharma scored a couple of two points on their individual brilliance and talent. But at the end of the first half Bengaluru Bulls were on 25 and an eleven point deficit was too much to overhaul for the home team.


The onslaught continued in the second half from the team from Down South. K Sinthoran who replaced Gurpreet Singh for Bengaluru and joined with Rajes Thakur to effect three doubles quickly taking the team to 31. The Bengaluru kept the pressure on and quick shuffle of the team proved to be of little help for the home team. Nilesh Shinde, Skipper of the Bengal side, came into his elements in the second half scoring three bonus points and Sachin Kambe’s leg hold gave Bengal points. But they were too few and far between as Bengaluru upped the ante with a well organised defence that saw most of the raiders fall flat in the rival court. The match ended with Bengaluru winning by a handsome 16 points difference scoring 46 points. This is Bengaluru’s third consecutive win as they flexed their muscle shooting to the top of the points tally. Ajay Thakur was adjudged player of the match for the most number of successful raids.


While Bengaluru Bulls showed a proper gameplan going for defence in numbers and swift penetrating raids, Bengal came up short in both departments which in effect put paid to their hopes. Local boy Rajesh Mondal, who played for Bengaluru, praised the setting and thanked the spectators for supporting him.