PKL 9: Bengaluru Bulls become third team to qualify for playoffs

Gujarat Giants spoils U Mumba's party in the race to playoffs.

U Mumba vs Gujarat Giants

The U Mumba held a massive lead in the first half, but the Gujarat Giants forged an emphatic comeback to defeat U Mumba 38-36 in the Pro Kabaddi League Season 9 at the Gachibowli Indoor Stadium in Hyderabad on Sunday. Parteek Dahiya emerged as the best player for Gujarat with 13 points in the match.

Pranay Rane picked up a few touch points as U Mumba took the lead at 6-3 in the 5th minute. Moments later, Mohit tackled Sandeep and helped his team inflict an ALL OUT to take a massive lead at 10-4. Heidarali Ekrami pulled off a SUPER RAID soon after, catching out Shankar Gadai, Sourav Gulia and Arkam Shaikh as the Mumbai side took complete control of the match at 15-4 in the 8th minute. Gujarat's Rinku Narwal and Sandeep effected tackles, but U Mumba still held the lead at 15-8 in the 12th minute.

Ekrami continued to shine as the Mumbai side continued to forge ahead. However, Rakesh effected a raid and the Giants tackled Guman Singh to stay in the game at 13-18. But, Rahul Sethpal pulled off a SUPER TACKLE in the 20th minute as U Mumba led at 20-13 at the end of the first half.  

Parteek Dahiya effected a fantastic raid in the opening minutes of the second half and reduced the U Mumba to just two members on the mat. Moments later, the Giants tackled Kamlesh and inflicted an ALL OUT to come back into the match at 19-22. However, Rane pulled off a multi-point lead and ensured that U Mumba stayed in the lead at 24-20. But Parteek Dahiya effected a few raids as the Giants reached within touching distance of U Mumba's score at 25-26 in the 28th minute. Sourav Gulia tackled Rane soon after and helped Gujarat level the scores at 26-26.

Thereafter, Ashish caught out Sourav Gulia and Arkam Shaikh as U Mumba inched ahead at 29-27 in the 31st minute. However, Gujarat's Manuj tackled Rane and Shankar Gadai effected a couple of raids as the Giants levelled the scores at 30-30. Thereafter, both sides traded raid for raid and were locked at 32-32 in the 37th minute. However, Dahiya pulled off a magnificent raid in the 39th minute and helped his team inflict an ALL OUT and take the lead at 37-34. The Giants played their cards perfectly in the dying seconds of the match and clinched a thrilling win in the end.

Bengaluru Bulls vs UP Yoddhas

The Bengaluru Bulls put on a great show to win against the UP Yoddhas by a scoreline of 38-35 in a high-pressure game of PKL 9 at the Gachibowli Indoor Stadium to qualify for the playoffs, here on Sunday. The Bengaluru Bulls trio of Bharat (8 points), Vikash Kandola (6 points) and Neeraj Narwal (5 points) did enough to get their team over the line and into the playoffs.

Both teams went into the game with the knowledge that a win would see them qualify for the playoffs, and in the early stages, there was little to separate them. Soon, though, Bharat's influence on the game grew and the UP Yoddhas, reduced in number, stared at an ALL OUT. Two consecutive SUPER TACKLES by Gurdeep, the second on Bharat, delayed the outcome. But eventually the Bengaluru Bulls inflicted the first ALL OUT of the game to take a slender 13-10 lead. 

The Bengaluru Bulls kept the pressure up to increase their lead by two more points, capitalising on some errors by the UP Yoddhas defense to go into half-time holding a 19-14 lead.

The Bengaluru Bulls carried the first half momentum into the early part of the second period, and soon enough inflicted a second ALL OUT on the UP Yoddhas to surge into a 10-point lead. With Bharat and Neeraj Narwal prolific on the raid, and Saurabh Nandal keeping the defense tight, it looked like they had locked up a victory.  

With five minutes to go the Bengaluru Bulls defense suddenly started leaking points and they were soon staring at an ALL OUT, with the UP Yoddhas eyeing a comeback. A SUPER TACKLE by Mahender Singh on Pardeep Narwal stemmed the flow and kept the UP Yoddhas at bay. That was enough as the Bengaluru Bulls held on despite a late ALL OUT by the UP Yoddhas, to clinch a deserving victory. 

Awards on 04/12/2022 

Match 1: U Mumba vs Gujarat Giants  

vivo Perfect Player of the Match – Parteek Dahiya (Gujarat Giants)  

Dream 11 Gamechanger of the Match – Rinku Narwal (Gujarat Giants) 

Moment of the Match - Parteek Dahiya (Gujarat Giants)  

Match 2: Bengaluru Bulls vs UP Yoddhas 

vivo Perfect Player of the Match – Aman (Bengaluru Bulls)  

Dream 11 Gamechanger of the Match – Saurabh Nandal (Bengaluru Bulls) 

Moment of the Match - Saurabh Nandal (Bengaluru Bulls)