Pune: Defending champion Puneri Paltan returned to winning ways as they thrashed Bengaluru Bulls 56-18 for a difference of 38 points and the third-biggest win by a points margin in Match 110 of Season 11 of Pro Kabaddi League (PKL) at the Badminton Hall of the Balewadi Sports Complex on Friday night.
With this win, Puneri Paltan ended their losing streak of three matches as they were ably led by the eight points from raiders Akash Shinde and Mohit Goyat. In defence, Gaurav Khatri and Aman completed much-deserved High 5s for their team.
What seemed like a see-saw clash in the opening exchanges suddenly turned in favour of the Puneri Paltan, who needed just eight minutes to inflict the first All Out of the match on the Bengaluru Bulls. This gave the defending champions a strong platform to completely take the match away from their opponents. Akash Shinde was the main aggressor for the Puneri Paltan, as the Bengaluru Bulls had no answers to his raiding acumen. The defensive unit of the Puneri Paltan were equally impressive, with Mohit Goyat putting in an ankle hold to trap Jatin after Gaurav Khatri and Pankaj Mohite combined to tackle Pardeep Narwal.
With Nitin Rawal relegated to the bench, the Bengaluru Bulls’ defence looked toothless. Pankaj Mohite got an easy touch on Parteek, leaving just Lucky Kumar on the mat. He was dashed out by Mohit Goyat in the very next move, leading to another All Out against the Bengaluru Bulls. A rout was imminent as the score read 26-7 at the end of the first half.
The Bengaluru Bulls – struggling on all fronts – were inflicted with a third All Out after Gaurav Khatri tackled the Dubki King. Khatri then completed his high five with a successful tackle on Pankaj, as the Puneri Paltan continued their rampage on the PKL 6 champions.
After 25 minutes, the Bengaluru Bulls succeeded in winning a super tackle after Mohit Goyat was tackled by Nitin Rawal. But they were still 25 points behind the defending champions, who did not look like stopping their scoring spree in the clash.
The fourth All Out was inflicted on the Bengaluru Bulls as the Puneri Paltan continued to run away with the victory. Aman joined Gaurav Khatri in the high-five list for the Puneri Paltan, with the Bengaluru Bulls not finding any answers to tackle the aggression of the defending champions.
As the match came to a close, substitute Aryavardhan Navale scored a massive Super Raid of five points as he took the score difference to 38 points to ensure that the home team bounced back after three losses to remain in the race for the playoffs.
(IANS)
