PKL 2019, UP Yoddha vs Bengal Warriors:As it Happened

Mohammad Nabhibakhsh and Maninder Singh led from the front as Bengal Warriors kicked off their campaign at the Pro Kabaddi League 2019 with a massive 48-17 victory over UP Yoddha at the Gachibowli Indoor Stadium, Hyderabad on Wednesday. 

Here are the live updates: 

# Bengal Warriors thrash UP Yoddha 48-17!

# UP Yoddhas have reduced the gap by tackling Prapanjan down before Maninder bagged another point following a successful raid. UP Yoddha 17-40 Bengal Warriors

# UP Yoddha finally get their first raid point of the second half after Monu Goyat tackled Nabhibaksh. However, Warriors added another three points following a successful raid by Nabhibaksh. UP Yoddha 12-30 Bengal Warriors

# Bengal Warriors have completed an all-out of UP Yoddha following a superb raid by Mohammad Nabibakhsh. The score now reads 10-25 in favour of Bengal Warriors. 

# UP Yoddha have faltered after taking a four-point lead initially in the match. Bengal Warriors have now taken a healthy lead against their opposition, with captain Maninder Singh being the top performer of the first half with four points. UP Yoddha 9-17 Bengal Warriors. 

# Bengal Warriors have taken the lead against UP Yoddha after a successful raid by Maninder Singh using his right leg saw him gain two points. Monu Goyat, who bagged one point in his previous raid, had to return empty-handed from the Bengal area. The score now read 13-8 in favour of Bengal. 

# Bengal Warriors staged a strong comeback to make it 5-6 against UP Yoddha. While the raiding departments of two sides are looking bleak so far, UP's Monu Goyat was tackled by Bengal's Baldev Singh.

# After being 0-4 down against UP Yoddha, Bengal Warriors captain Maninder Singh grabbed a superb two-pointer to help his side bounce back. The score now read 4-3 in favour of Yoddha. 

# UP Yoddha opened their account first in the match by tackling Bengal Warriors' K. Prapanjan following empty raids by two sides. 

# Meanwhile, Maninder Singh is the only raider among the top raiders to have a positive head-to-head record against Nitesh Kumar in PKL  6.

Q. How to escape Nitesh Kumar's hold?
A. Maninder Singh@BengalWarriors skipper had the answer to all the questions posed by the best defender from last season! Will the script change tonight? Find out LIVE in #UPvKOL, 7 PM onwards, on Star Sports & Hotstar. pic.twitter.com/30mvQ9RQCn — ProKabaddi (@ProKabaddi) July 24, 2019

# UP Yoddha win the toss, thus the first raid will be carried out by Bengal Warriors. 

# Bengal Warriors' starting seven, on the other hand, includes K. Prapanjan, Maninder Singh (C), Mohammad Nabhibaksh, Naveen Narwal, Rinku Narwal, Jeeva Kumar, Baldev Singh.

# The starting seven for UP Yoddha comprises of Monu Goyat, Surender Singh, Shrikant Jadhav, Narender, Amit, Nitesh Kumar (C), Amit Kumar.

# The players of the two sides have arrived in the stadium. 

The match is expected to be a well-fought one, considering the raiding unit and defenders in both the sides. 

The raiding trio of Shrikanth Jadhav, Monu Goyat and Rishank Devadiga made their presence felt for the UP Yoddha last season. They are expected to step up and guide the side to victories this time around as well.  

The Bengal Warriors, on the other hand, invested heavily in the services of Mohammad Nabibakhsh. The Iranian all-rounder was signed for a massive sum of  ₹77 Lakh and will be expected to lead the raiding unit alongside Maninder Singh.

The duo can further expect quality support from Rakesh Narwal, Mohammad Taghi, Sukesh Hegde and K.Prapanjan.

The UP Yoddha defence is also extremely strong as it comprises of Nitesh Kumar, who accumulated the highest number of tackle points last season. All-rounder Sachin Kumar or emerging youngster Sumit are further expected to provide support in the left corner position.

The Bengal Warriors defensive unit, on the other hand, comprises of Jeeva Kumar, Baldev Singh, Adarsh T, Rinku Narwal and Vijin Thangadurai.