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The Puneri Paltan extended their unbeaten streak to four matches with a dominant performance against the Gujarat Giants at the GMCB Indoor Stadium in Gachibowli, Hyderabad, on Monday evening. The Paltan secured a convincing 49-30 victory, highlighted by Akash Shinde’s 11 points, along with defenders Abinesh Nadarajan, Gaurav Khatri, and Aman, each contributing a Hi-5. For the Gujarat Giants, Guman Singh was the standout player, scoring 13 points. In other match between Bengaluru and Tamil, The Bengaluru Bulls notched their second victory of the season with a thrilling win over the Tamil Thalaivas at the GMCB Indoor Stadium in Hyderabad on Monday. The Bulls emerged victorious with a score of 36-32, thanks to Hi-5 performances from Ajinkya Pawar, Surinder Dehal, and Akshit, who helped keep the formidable Tamil Thalaivas team at bay.
Defending champions Puneri Paltan were out of the blocks at rapid pace, and picked up an early lead against the Gujarat Giants, who found it tough to get going in the initial minutes. Within the first five minutes the Puneri Paltan also landed an ALL OUT via Abinesh Nadarajan on the Gujarat Giants, which put the Season 10 champions in the box seat.
Midway through the first half, the Puneri Paltan led the Gujarat Giants by 9 points, with Akash Shinde and Abinesh Nadarajan leading the way for their side. The Gujarat Giants had Guman Singh fighting a lone battle at this point, and what put them under more pressure is a second ALL OUT. At the half-time break, the dominant Puneri Paltan led the contest by 30-9.
The second half started off with an ALL OUT going, again, in the favour of the Puneri Paltan, who were well and truly in control of the contest. The early exchanges saw the Puneri Paltan continue to pick up points at will, while the Gujarat Giants had Guman Singh and Rakesh fighting on. Meanwhile, Puneri Paltan’s Pankaj Mohite, Akash Shinde, Mohit Goyat, Abinesh Nadarajan and Gaurav Khatri were causing their opponents all sorts of problems. At the half-hour mark, the Puneri Paltan led by 25 points.
In the final phase of the contest, the Gujarat Giants had a few positive moments, both in defence and in attack, including being able to land an ALL OUT on the Puneri Paltan. But it was never going to be enough, as the Puneri Paltan romped over the line to a comprehensive and comfortable win to kickstart their week.
Bengaluru Bulls vs Tamil Thalaivas
It was a quick start from both teams to get themselves on the board. Jai Bhagwan kicked things off with a two-pointer that urged the Bengaluru Bulls into action early on. That was matched by a superb tackle from Tamil Thalaiva’s captain, Sahil Gulia, that saw the teams going toe-to-toe, tied at 7-7 after the first time out.
Nitin Rawal soon returned the favour with a Super Tackle of his own, to keep things level. The Raiders took time to get going on the attacking end as the two captains stood tall on the defensive line in the first half and saw the Bengaluru Bulls take a one-point lead as the scoreline read 14-13 at the break.
Alongside his captain, Saurabh Nandal picked up where his team left off in the first half, imposing themselves with a Super Tackle at the start of the second half. The Tamil Thalaivas raiders were unlike themselves in the first 20 minutes. Sachin Tanwar managed to bag his first points of the game in the second half, triggering his team into action as they immediately imposed an All Out on the Bengaluru Bulls to take the lead.
The lead didn’t last for too long though, as the Bengaluru Bulls didn’t waste much time to tie things up at 23-23. The defining moment in the game came when Anuj Gawade enforced a Super Tackle on Ajinkya Pawar, who was on a Do-Or-Die Raid himself. That gave the Tamil Thailavas a 2-point lead with under six minutes to go in the contest.
However, the Bengaluru Bulls had other plans. Coming in as a substitute for the Bengaluru Bulls, Akshit managed to execute some crucial raids, not only levelling things up but also helping his side to get an All Out on the Tamil Thalaivas. That gave his team a 3-point lead, also giving them something to hold onto with a couple of minutes to go.
The Tamil Thailavas weren’t going to go down without a fight with Narender Kandola and Sachin Tanwar, both completing Super 5’s. In the end, a clutch defensive effort from Surinder Dehal on the most expensive player of the auction saw him complete his Super 5, sealing the victory for a much-needed win for the Bengaluru Bulls.
