PKL-12: Vishwas Shines as Captain, Bengal Beat Thalaivas by Just 1 Point

Playing his first match as captain, 19-year-old Vishwas S. led from the front as Bengal Warriors defeated Tamil Thalaivas 44-43 in a thrilling encounter of the 100th match of the Pro Kabaddi League (PKL) Season 12 at the Thyagaraj Indoor Stadium on Tuesday.

This defeat has made the playoff path extremely difficult for the Thalaivas. They now have to hope that Gujarat Giants lose both their remaining matches — though even in that case, the points difference might still go against them.

Apart from Vishwas, Himanshu Narwal impressed with 9 points, while for the Thalaivas, Arjun Deshwal (20 points) once again shone brightly, with Moin Shafaghi (8 points) providing solid support. This was Thalaivas’ final match of the season. Bengal still has one more game left, but their playoff hopes had already ended earlier.

Despite missing the season’s top raider, Devank, Bengal started well, taking a 5-3 lead within the first four minutes. Shafaghi dismissed Manjeet, but Himanshu immediately struck back, taking out Shafaghi and Nitesh to put Thalaivas on the verge of a super tackle. Raunak then executed the super tackle on Himanshu, making it 6-7.

Soon after, Deshwal turned the tables with a four-point raid, forcing Bengal into an all-out situation. Vishwas managed to dismiss Nitesh to delay it, but Deshwal again restored the situation and eventually all-outed Bengal to make it 17-8. After the break, Deshwal completed his Super-10 but was tackled out soon after. Though revived quickly, he was caught again. Just before halftime, captain Vishwas scored a one-point raid to reduce the margin, bringing the score to 16-22, with Thalaivas in a super tackle position.

In the second half, Bengal struck back, inflicting their first all-out to bring the score to 22-25. Captain Vishwas also completed his Super-10 during this period. Meanwhile, Deshwal achieved his 200th raid point of the season. Bengal made a remarkable comeback, earning 11 points to Thalaivas’ 5 in the next few minutes. Vishwas scored five points in two raids, narrowing the gap to 31-33 by the 30th minute. Deshwal, however, widened it again with a multi-point raid.

Vishwas then responded with a two-point raid, cutting the lead back to two and putting Thalaivas under a super tackle situation. Thalaivas were reduced to just one player as the score leveled at 36-36. Deshwal avoided an all-out with a super raid, but Himanshu immediately wiped out the Thalaivas with a brilliant raid, giving Bengal a 41-39 lead.

After the all-in, Deshwal took a bonus point, but Vishwas countered with a two-point raid, extending the lead to three. Phoolchand then tackled Deshwal, almost sealing the win for Bengal. Though the Thalaivas reduced the deficit to just one point in the end, time ran out — and Bengal emerged victorious.