New Delhi, Sep 13 On Day 15 of the Pro Kabaddi League Season 12, the Bengal Warriorz faced yet another tough outing as they slumped to their fourth consecutive defeat, this time at the hands of a rejuvenated Tamil Thalaivas side. The Warriorz now find themselves struggling with both form and cohesion.
Analysing the game on KBD Live, JioStar expert Rishank Devadiga pointed out the core issues haunting the Bengal outfit - poor coordination between their defense and raiding departments.
"We rarely get to see defensive performances like this, but the way the Tamil Thalaivas defenders played against the Bengal Warriorz was class. Their main issue earlier was poor defense and the raiding department wasn't doing well in combinations, but this game was different, the defense clicked together. Every defender did his job, and the stats showed a 100% strike-rate. Ronak led the charge with four tackle points, Aashish added three, while Suresh Jadhav and Nitesh Kumar chipped in with two each. When the defense performs like this, the raiders automatically find their rhythm too. Against Devank Dalal’s Bengal Warriorz, the defense was rock solid, and Ronak stood out. He had a clear plan to stop Devank, executed chain tackles repeatedly, and completely broke Devank’s confidence."
While Devadiga was praising Tamil Thalaivas for getting their act together, his comments highlighted the contrast with Bengal Warriorz, whose defenders failed to support their star raider Devank Dalal, leading to repeated collapses on the mat.
"I saw a very confused Devank on the mat. His start wasn’t good as he was tackled multiple times, but once he got momentum, he began scoring raid points and even tried contributing in defense, though he lost points there as well. His frustration was visible, the team wasn’t supporting him, especially the defense. He would get out and only return after an all-out, which needs to be reduced. Bengal Warriorz still have a chance to make the playoffs with eight teams qualifying and a lot of matches are still left to be played, but if they continue playing this poorly, it will be very difficult for the season seven champions to progress," Devadiga said.
The lack of coordination and understanding between the raiders and defenders has exposed the Warriorz in crucial moments, making it difficult for them to mount comebacks after all-outs or capitalise on opportunities.
Devadiga believes that unless Bengal Warriorz fix this disconnect between departments, their playoff hopes could slip further away.
"It is very difficult for a team to succeed if they are completely reliant on a single player, and Bengal Warriorz are a clear example with their dependence on Devank Dalal. A similar situation is seen in Jaipur Pink Panthers, where Nitin Dhankhar is playing the role of a lone warrior with little support. If Nitin gets out, he only returns after the team suffers an all-out. Jaipur must work on their defense and get support from other raiders. Nitin will always bring you points, but in kabaddi, the support raiders are equally important. Teams whose main raiders get that backing from their teammates are the ones doing well."
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