Bengaluru: Aslam Inamdar’s last gasp winning raid saw Puneri Paltan notch their second win in vivo Pro Kabaddi Season 9 with a 26-25 win over Telugu Titans at the Shree Kanteerava Indoor Stadium in Bengaluru on Tuesday. Both sides fought neck-to-neck in the last few minutes of the match, until Inamdar held his nerve and took his team over the line.
A cautious start by both teams led to a slow low-scoring first half. The pick of the raiders was Puneri Paltan’s Mohit Goyat, whose constant touch points kept the Titans on their toes, but never really put them in true danger of an All-Out. Throughout the first half, Puneri Paltan’s defensive output almost matched their raiders. It was only Siddharth Desai’s penchant for getting bonus points that kept the Titans in the hunt. The teams went into the break with Puneri Paltan leading 11-9.
Puneri Paltan raced out of the blocks in the second half, and within just a few minutes had inflicted the first All-Out of the game after their defence caught out last man Monu Goyat on a raid to rack up a 16-11 lead. Despite Desai picking up some crucial points, and constantly remaining a thorn in the Puneri Paltan defenders’ flesh, the Titans never actually managed to seriously dent the lead too much.
With barely a quarter of the game left, the Titans suddenly started to pull the lead back. It started off with a brilliant Super Tackle by Surjeet Singh on Mohammad Nabibakhsh to cut the lead down to three. On their next raid, Vinay’s Super Raid caught out three Paltan players — Mohit Goyat, Rakesh Ram, Sanket Sawant — and a bonus, as the Titans rushed into a 22-21 lead for the first time in the match.
From there the game turned into a close contest with both teams upping the level of their game to give the fans in the stadium a real show. A breathless affair culminated in a final minute with Puneri Paltan leading by a single point at 25-24. On the Titans’ last raid, Desai got the bonus point to tie the game. However, with one second left, it all fell on Puneri Paltan’s Aslam Inamdar to salvage something from the game. A crucial error, by Monu Goyat, meant Puneri Paltan got the point they needed to notch their second win of the season.
Top Performers
Telugu Titans: Best Raider – Siddharth Desai (8 Raid Points); Best Defender – Surjeet Singh (4 Tackle Points)
Puneri Paltan: Best Raider – Mohit Goyat (8 Raid Points); Best Defender – Fazel Atrachali (3 Tackle Points)
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