PKL 9: Puneri Paltan, Bengal Warriors, Bengaluru Bulls picks up important win

Puneri Paltan vs Haryana Steelers

Puneri Paltan continued their excellent form in the Pro Kabaddi League (PKL) Season 9 as they defeated Haryana Steelers 41-28 at the Gachibowli Indoor Stadium in Hyderabad on Friday. Aslam Inamdar emerged as the star for the Pune side with 10 points on the night.

Aslam Inamdar started the match with a bonus point before Fazel Atrachali carried out a brilliant tackle on Steelers' raider Manjeet to help his team take the lead. Haryana came back into the match as Joginder Narwal used his experience to register a SUPER TACKLE. However, Paltan maintained their rhythm and attained a massive lead at 13-3.

Joginder Narwal tried to repeat his heroics but this time Mohit made his move early to grab the player and helped his team stay in the lead. Haryana saw a ray of hope when Meetu effected a brilliant raid, but Puneri Paltan carried out a SUPER TACKLE and Aslam Inamdar sent Manjeet out of the mat as the Pune side sat comfortably at 20-10 at the end of the first half. 

The Steelers tried to make a comeback in the second half, but the Paltan defense continued to stand tall. Raider Meetu lunged forward in the opposition's half to grab a point, but he was tackled by Sanket Sawant. Fazel Atrachali, then, used his experience to tackle Manjeet as the Pune side inflicted an ALL OUT to attain a stronghold of the match at 31-17.

Vinay picked up a SUPER RAID late in the game, but the Steelers were too far behind Puneri's score. The side from Pune kept raging on and eventually closed out a comprehensive victory. 

Bengal Warriors vs Telugu Titans

Captain Maninder Singh put up a fantastic performance to help the Bengal Warriors register a 36-28 victory over Telugu Titans at the Gachibowli Indoor Stadium in Hyderabad on Friday in PKL 9. Maninder scored 12 points, while Shrikant Jadhav chipped in with 7 points in the match.

Siddharth Desai picked up a few raid points as the Telugu Titans took the lead at 5-4 in the 5th minute. However, Deepak Hooda pulled off a fantastic raid soon after and helped the Warriors level the scores at 5-5. Thereafter, Parvesh Bhainswal carried out a couple of fantastic tackles as the Titans regained the lead at 8-6 in the 9th minute. However, Captain Maninder Singh effected a raid and helped his side level the scores at 8-8. Thereafter both sides played out a neck and neck contest and kept trading points until the Warriors sneaked ahead at 14-13 at the end of the first half.

The Warriors inflicted an ALL OUT in the opening minutes of the second half and took a massive lead at 20-14. Abhishek Singh and Siddharth Desai picked up raid points for the Titans, but Maninder Singh's heroics helped the Warriors to stay ahead at 25-19 in the 31st minute. Shrikant Jadhav pulled off a fantastic raid in the 33rd minute and reduced the Titans to just two members on the mat. Moments later, the Warriors inflicted another ALL OUT to attain a stronghold of the match at 33-22 in the 35th minute. The Warriors rode on the momentum and eventually walked off the mat with a massive victory.

Bengaluru Bulls vs Gujarat Giants

Bharat's unbelievable raiding — which resulted in a total tally of 18 points, helped the Bengaluru Bulls ease to a 45-38 win over the Gujarat Giants at the Gachibowli Indoor Stadium on the last game of the day on Friday in PKL 9. 

A high speed, high points game kicked off with the Bulls firing on all cylinders right from the word go. Bharat, on his first raid of the evening — and in fact the evening's fourth raid — got a SUPER RAID taking out the Giants' Rinku Narwal, Rakesh and Manuj to leave them reeling and staring at an early all out. The ALL OUT duly came soon after, as the Bulls surged into a 9-3 lead.

To the Giants' credit they did not take the shock lying down and were soon in the hunt themselves. Prateek Dhaiya and Chandran Ranjit's success soon helped them inflict an ALL OUT of their own to draw level at 11-11. But the pendulum swung again, and the Bulls went on to get their second ALL OUT of the game to again run into a 20-13 lead. Bharat had by then registered a super 10 already. Despite a late Giants fightback, the teams went into halftime with the Bulls leading 26-22. 

Bharat single-handedly pulled up the win for the Bulls

The pace of the game dropped in the second period, but the quality remained high. While Bharat's constant success when raiding ensured the Bulls never lost the lead, they were never truly out of sight either. 

It all changed at the halfway mark of the second period. On a DO OR DIE raid, Bharat took out Shankar Gadai, Chandran Ranjit and Rinku Narwal, a SUPER RAID, that set up another all out. Mayur Kadam's tackle on Sonu gave the Bulls their third ALL OUT of the game to streak into a nine-point lead.

While Bharat and the Bulls' raiders took much of the applause, their quartet of defenders were also chiefly responsible for what ended up being a straightforward victory. Between them, Mayur Kadam, Mahender Singh, Saurabh Nandal and Aman scored 10 points, and kept the Giants' Ranjit and Dhaiya at bay to ensure their team got the win. 

Award Winners of the Night:

Match 1: Puneri Paltan vs Haryana Steelers

vivo Perfect Player of the Match - Aslam Inamdar (Puneri Paltan)

Dream 11 Gamechanger of the Match - Fazel Atrachali (Puneri Paltan)

Moment of the Match - Mohit Goyat (Puneri Paltan)

Match 2: Bengal Warriors vs Telugu Titans

vivo Perfect Player of the Match - Maninder Singh (Bengal Warriors)

Dream 11 Gamechanger of the Match - Shubham Shinde (Bengal Warriors)

Moment of the Match - Girish Maruti Ernak (Bengal Warriors)

Match 3: Gujarat Giants vs Bengaluru Bulls

vivo Perfect Player of the Match - Bharat (Bengaluru Bulls)

Dream 11 Gamechanger of the Match - Vikash Kandola (Bengaluru Bulls)

Moment of the Match - Bharat (Bengaluru Bulls)