Mohammad Nabibakhsh inspired Bengal Warriors to a win against U.P. Yoddha in their season opener. Bengal Warriors put on a commanding display in their first match of VIVO Pro Kabaddi Season 7 to cruise past U.P. Yoddha by a scoreline of 48-17.
U.P were quick off the blocks and were 4-0 up early thanks to some good defensive work. It was eventually Bengal Warriors skipper Maninder who got his side on the scoreboard after a successful two-point raid.
Maninder’s opposite number Nitesh responded with some good tackles for U.P. Yoddha as both teams continued to trade blows in what was a tight first quarter of the match. Nitesh was continuing to be a threat to the Bengal Warriors raiders but Nabibakhsh removed him from the mat with and set up the first All-Out of the night in the 14th minute to give his team an 11-7 lead.
With momentum on their side, Bengal ensured they ended the half strongly by scoring nine points in the last five minutes. A couple of successful raids by Maninder and Prapanjan, as well as a few well-executed tackles by the defenders, meant that Warriors led by 17-9 at the break.
Warriors started the second half in the same way they ended the first and went on to inflict a second All-Out on U.P in just the second minute. Nabibakhsh continued to prove his raiding prowess and pulled off a two-point raid before a robust tackle by Jeeva Kumar who was putting on a strong performance himself handed Yoddha their second All-Out.
Both Bengal Warriors and Nabibakhsh weren’t done yet though and upped the ante even further. A stunning Super Raid by the Iranian preceded the third All-Out of the match on U.P and gave Bengal an almost unassailable 33-13 lead in the 26th minute.
With their confidence growing, the Bengal Warriors players began to show their best, with Baldev in particular, finding great success while tackling. However, Nabibakhsh was looking the liveliest and he continued to make his presence felt by removing the two remaining U.P. Yoddha defenders on the mat in the 37th minute for the fourth and final All-Out of the match on U.P Yoddha. Bengal Warriors’ defence maintained their intensity right till the final whistle and the team ended the night with the biggest win of the season so far.
