Gaurav Khatri and Vishal Bharadwaj register High Fives as Puneri Paltan went back to the top of the standings with a convincing 39-33 victory against the Telugu Titans at the SMS Indoor Stadium in the second match on Saturday.
Khatri and Bhardwaj were on top of their game with seven and six tackles respectively, putting on a defensive masterclass for Puneri Paltan. Meanwhile, Bharat Hooda notched up a Super 10, but it wasn’t enough for his team on the night.
It was a riveting start to the game, with the two teams not wasting any time to hit the ground running in this high-intense clash. Aslam Inamdar and Bharat Hooda exchanged raids and tackles to open the scoring for their respective teams.
The Paltan got their noses in front with Pankaj Mohite and Vishal Bhardwaj bagging a raid and tackle respectively, giving their side a two-point advantage. Telugu Titans came right back, though, courtesy a Super Tackle from Avi Duhan, once again levelling the scores at 6-6.
It was a back-and-forth contest with Pankaj Mohite and Aslam contributing on the raiding end, while Vijay Malik did the same with a successful Do-Or-Die Raid for his success. At the end of the first quarter, Puneri Paltan had a slender one-point lead with the score at 8-7.
The PKL 10 champions soon opened up a four-point lead courtesy of a tackle from Vishal Bhardwaj that helped them register the first ALL OUT of the game. Four raid points from Vijay Malik kept the scoreboard ticking for the Titans, keeping them within striking distance.
However, the Paltan were unrelenting on both ends of the mat with their defenders putting on a show. Gaurav Khatri registered four tackle points, while Aslam was unstoppable on both ends of the mat, keeping their side in complete control with the score at 24-14 at halftime.
Puneri Paltan picked up where they left off in the first half, with Aditya Shinde and Pankaj keeping the pressure on Telugu Titans. The Titans did show some resilience and spirit as the game progressed, with Bharat Hooda finding his groove and cutting down the deficit to six points.
However, Gaurav Khatri halted the momentum for Titans, completing his High Five with a Super Tackle on Bharat Hooda and helping Puneri Paltan maintain a nine-point lead with under ten minutes to go.While Puneri Paltan dictated terms in the game, the Titans were not throwing in the towel yet.
Avi Duhan responded with a Super Tackle of his own, while Bharat Hooda persisted on the raiding end to make it a seven-point game. That door was quickly shut down by the Paltan once again, though, as Vishal Bhardwaj completed his High Five.
With the clock ticking down, Puneri Paltan stayed in the ascendancy courtesy of the masterclass their defenders put on show. Bharat Hooda did complete his Super 10 for Telugu Titans, but it didn’t count for much in the end. The PKL 10 champions eventually sealed the deal, securing a 39-33 win to move back to the top of the table.