In match 50 of PKL 11, Ashu Malik crafted a stunning script for the Dabang Delhi K.C. by himself. He finished with his eighth straight Super 10 and an outstanding 38-38 draw with the Puneri Paltan at the Noida Indoor Stadium on Tuesday. With 17 points in the end, the replacement captain made sure his team took home half the points for the evening.
When Akash Shinde took up the raiding duties in lieu of their captain, Aslam Inamdar, Puneri Paltan got off to a commanding start. Defenders Aman and Abinesh Nadarajan maintained the strong start by securing important tackle points. Mohit Goyat gave the Dabang Delhi K.C. the first ALL OUT of the game in the tenth minute, but Ashu Malik kept his side in the game and became the first raider to reach 100 points in PKL 11 without Naveen Kumar. The Puneri Paltan defense team of Aman and Abinesh demonstrated their class with many Super Tackles to their name, despite Ashu's best efforts to lead the Dabang Delhi K.C. to a comeback. The score at the end of the first half was 13-21 in favor of the Puneri Paltan, and Aman won a well-deserved High 5 in that half alone.
Ashu Malik went on to complete his Super 10– his ninth in 10 games – at the start of the second half but the support was lacking from his teammates. In comparison, the young guns of Puneri Paltan worked together to keep their team in the hunt for the win. The Dabang Delhi K.C. defenders seemed to fall flat on the night, with the Puneri Paltan inflicting a second ALL OUT on the Dabang Delhi K.C. entering the final 10 minutes of the match. Just when the match seemed to slip from the hands of Dabang Delhi K.C., Ashu Malik turned up the heat. His Super Raid got Sanket Sawant, Mohit Goyat and Aman off the mat, also inflicting an ALL OUT on the Puneri Paltan, turning the tide of the match.
And when it mattered, the Dabang Delhi K.C. defenders stepped to the fore. With two minutes remaining, the deficit was reduced to just one point when Pankaj Mohite was successfully tackled by Gaurav Chillar, making for an interesting end to the clash. In the penultimate raid of the match, Ashu equalized the score by getting Gaurav Khatri off the mat. Eventually, the officials called time on an exciting match that saw Dabang Delhi K.C. score 15
points in the final 10 minutes to seal the tie.
Pink Panther beat Bengaluru Bulls
The Jaipur Pink Panthers defeated the Bengaluru Bulls 39-32 in Match 49 of season 11 thanks to a superb solo performance from Arjun Deshwal. Arjun scored 19 points for the two-time PKL champions, while Lucky Sharma, who concluded with six points after completing a High 5, was the second-highest scorer for the Jaipur Pink Panthers.
Bengaluru Bulls raider Ajinkya Pawar surprised the Jaipur Pink Panthers early in the game by scoring early points to give his team a significant advantage in Pardeep Narwal's absence. Then, just eight minutes into the game, Jatin joined the celebration when the Bengaluru Bulls gave the Jaipur Pink Panthers the first ALL OUT of the contest. Arjun Deshwal, the captain of the Jaipur Pink Panthers, led his side with seven early raid points, which was sufficient to keep them afloat.
Slowly but surely, the Jaipur Pink Panthers fought their way back into the game as the first half came to a close. With two minutes left at the end of the first half and the two teams separated by one point, Arulnanthababu pulled off a Super Tackle for the Bengaluru Bulls. It was a close game through the first half, and Arjun Deshwal completed his fourth Super 10 of the season as he got Arulnanthababu and then Jatin, to take the score to 19-17.
An ALL OUT inflicted by the Jaipur Pink Panthers on Bengaluru Bulls set the tone for the second half. Ajinkya, who completed 500 Raid Points in the PKL, kept up with his form, but the Bengaluru Bulls lost control of the match. On the other side of the mat, the raid machine for the Jaipur Pink Panthers – Arjun Deshwal – singlehandedly led the charge for his team. As the match came to a close, the Jaipur Pink Panthers shifted gears to inflict a second ALL OUT on the Bengaluru Bulls, extending their lead to nine points. With two minutes remaining to the end of the game, Jai Bhagwan completed a Super Raid, but by then the damage was done as the Jaipur Pink Panthers secured a seven-point victory.
