UP thrash Pune, Warriors and Titans play out thriller in PKL 8
(Courtesy : Pro Kabaddi)
Surender Gill scored a massive 21 points for the UP Yoddha.
Surender Gill was the star for U.P. Yoddha as they thrashed Puneri Paltan 50-40 in a high-scoring Match 60 of vivo Pro Kabaddi League (PKL) Season 8 at The Sheraton Grand, Whitefield, Bengaluru. Raiders Surender Gill (21 points) and Pardeep Narwal (10 points) scored Super 10s for Yoddha in an intense kabaddi match with way too many defensive errors. Aslam Inamdar and Mohit Goyat had Super 10s for coach Anup Kumar’s Pune side, but they did not get any help from a stuttering defence that conceded far too many points.
The first half was a high-scoring affair with just one empty raid in the first five minutes. Pardeep Narwal started the proceedings with a 3-point Super Raid and that certainly set the tone for the other raiders. Aslam Inamdar and Mohit Goyat combined to help Pune clinch the game’s first ALL OUT close to the tenth minute but Yoddha immediately clawed their way back in the PKL encounter.
It was raining Super Raids on both sides and Surender Gill’s 3-point effort with 7 minutes remaining helped Yoddha inflict an ALL OUT. Both the left corners, Pune’s Vishal Bharadwaj and Yoddha’s Sumit, were having an error-prone night and conceded far too many points in the first half of the PKL encounter that ended 20-20.
Yoddha started the second half of the PKL encounter brightly with Surender Gill aggressive in his raids. His 4-point Super Raid in the 5th minute paved way for another ALL OUT which helped Yoddha open a 7-point lead. He and Pardeep Narwal took turns to eat points away from Pune and eventually got them an ALL OUT in the 10th minute. U.P. scored a massive 20 points in the first 10 minutes after the restart to open a 15-point lead. Both Pardeep and Surender crossed their Super 10s while Mohit Goyat did the same for Pune.
Aslam Inamdar manufactured a 3-point Super Raid in the 12th minute of the second half to spark a comeback. But Pune’s defenders were having a night to forget with Surender Gill picking points with ease. Despite Aslam Inamdar and Mohit Goyat’s best attempts, Pune could not close the gap as Yoddha clinched a valuable win. Surender Gill ended the PKL match with a tally of 21 points.
Warriors edge past Titans
Defending champions Bengal Warriors beat Telugu Titans 28-27 in Match 61 of vivo Pro Kabaddi League Season 8 at The Sheraton Grand, Whitefield, Bengaluru. The low-scoring affair saw both teams exchanging leads with defences on top. Bengal captain Maninder Singh scored a Super 10 but it was the Warriors' defenders who showed the mental composure to clinch a last-minute victory. Telugu Titans will be left wondering what they need to secure a win in Season 8. Their raider Rajnish once again clinched a Super 10 (11 points) but an ALL OUT in the dying minutes cost them dearly.
The first half saw both teams opt for a cautious approach. Galla Raju found a place in the Telugu starting 7 for Rohit Kumar but the Titans were hoping that the raiding duo of Rajnish and Ankit Beniwal would do the bulk of the scoring. Unfortunately for them, Bengal’s left corner Ran Singh was in fantastic form, picking up 3 tackle points in the first half.
The Bengal raiders, however, struggled to work their magic against the Titans. Maninder Singh picked just 3 points while Sukesh Hegde contributed 4 bonus points which allowed the Telugu team to stay in touching distance. The first half ended 14-13 with Bengal in the lead.
The Titans’ own defence was having a good match with Sandeep Kandola marshalling them from the left corner. He ensured Bengal raiders stayed quiet in the opening minutes after the restart. Rajnish’s 3-point Super Raid in the 5th minute gave Titans a 4-point lead and they managed to sustain the points gap till the first Time Out.
Maninder Singh and Bengal’s defenders made it just a 1-point game with minutes remaining in the match as Rajnish struggled in his raids. Ran Singh pounced on Rajnish with 2 minutes to go to get Bengal a crucial ALL OUT and a narrow lead. The Warriors then sensibly managed the remaining time to clinch a 1-point win.
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