Puneri Paltan produced a brilliant all-round display to stun defending champions Jaipur Pink Panthers 37-33 at the EKA Arena by TransStadia in Ahmedabad on Monday. Arjun Deshwal (17 points) and Aslam Inamdar (10 points) were the key performers of the day. Puneri Paltan got off the blocks well as they raced to a 6-3 lead when Iranian all-rounder Mohammadreza Shadloui Chiyaneh trapped Ajith Kumar in the sixth minute. However, the Panthers clawed their way back into the game through their raiders. Arjun was a constant threat to the Puneri defence, but it was Ajith Kumar who made the difference as he got the better of Abinesh Nadarajan and Mohit Goyat in a superb raid to inflict the ALL OUT in the 14th minute.
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The Panthers had a comfortable 14-10 lead and it was the first time they had taken the lead in the game. Arjun went on to grab points in each of his next three raids to ensure the Panthers held on to their four-point lead at the half-time interval.
Arjun resumed where he left off as he picked up two points in the very first raid of the second half to bring up his PKL career’s 36th Super 10. Just when it appeared that the Panthers were in the ascendancy, Puneri Paltan mounted a solid fightback. Aslam starred with a two-point raid to reduce the opposition to two men and Shadloui followed it up with an iron-clad double thigh hold on Arjun to get the ALL OUT.
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Pure strength from Aman _#ProKabaddi #PKLSeason10 #BLRvBEN #BengaluruBulls #BengalWarriors #HarSaansMeinKabaddi pic.twitter.com/3tctAsBVzv
— ProKabaddi (@ProKabaddi) December 4, 2023
With 25 minutes played, Puneri Paltan had reduced the deficit to two points at 21-23. A couple of successful raids from Aslam and a huge tackle from Sanket Sawant on Ajith saw them draw level at 25-25 in the 30th minute.
The men in orange dictated terms thereon as frequent points from Shadloui, one from a tackle and one off a smart pursuit raid, saw Puneri Paltan bag yet another ALL OUT. Puneri Paltan enjoyed a healthy six-point lead with five minutes left on the clock.
Arjun put up a valiant effort to bring his side back into the game, but there was little he could do as Aslam brought up his Super 10 and led Puneri Paltan to victory on his captaincy debut.
Maninder Singh Scores Super 10 As Bengal Warriors Register Thrilling Win
The Bengal Warriors dominated most of the game, but the Bengaluru Bulls fought in the final minutes of the match to make it a close contest. However, the Warriors emerged victorious with the scoreline reading 32-30 at the EKA Arena by TransStadia on Monday. Maninder Singh’s 11 points in his first start for the season set the tone for the Warriors in the game.
Maninder kicked off proceedings with the first raid of the evening, one which yielded a bonus point as well as a touch point to put Bengal on the board. In what was billed as the battle of the big raiders, he had stamped his mark.
At the other end though Bharat was tackled on his very first raid, an ominous sign of the way things would go for him through the game. It took Bengaluru Bulls over four minutes of the game, and multiple raids before they even got on the board, via a DO OR DIE raid from Aditya Shinde.
The Warriors kept tapping away at regular intervals to keep the Bulls at arm’s length, but one SUPER RAID from Neeraj Narwal ripped up the script and turned it into a close encounter, one which the Warriors led 14-11 at half-time.
The Warriors extended their lead a few minutes into the second half, Maninder Singh effecting an ALL OUT to put them 8 points clear at 23-15.
However, Bengaluru slowly inched their way back into the contest thereafter. With six minutes to go, they got an ALL OUT of their own, to reduce the margin to two and with three minutes left to play, the teams were locked at 28 apiece.
In the last minute of the game though, Vishwas’ raid and Darpan’s tackle ensured the Warriors edged to a win.
