Gagan Gowda continues to play a starring role for the UP Yoddhas in PKL Season 11, as he led his side to an important win against the Puneri Paltan, in the Badminton Hall, at the Balewadi Sports Complex on Saturday. The UP Yoddhas won 36-33 with Gagan Gowda scoring 15 points. For the Puneri Paltan, Pankaj Mohite scored 11 points.
Gagan Gowda Stands Tall for the UP Yoddhas in Crucial Win against Puneri Paltan
The in-form Gagan Gowda got the UP Yoddhas off to a quick start, and his defenders backed him well, as they picked up an early lead. However, the Puneri Paltan, cheered on by the home crowd, had the skipper Akash Shinde leading by example, in the initial exchanges. But, just after the five-minute mark, Gagan Gowda landed a Super Raid, picking up three important points.
It was an action packed first ten minutes in the game, as both the Puneri Paltan and UP Yoddhas were looking to score quickly. Midway through the first half, however, the advantage was with the UP Yoddhas, who led by 4 points. A few minutes later, the UP Yoddhas inflicted an ALL OUT on the Puneri Paltan, and significantly increased their advantage over the home team.
As the half wore on, all the players in the starting line-up had scored points for the UP Yoddas, with Gagan Gowda, Bhavani Rajput, Hitesh and Sumit leading the way. That though wasn’t the case with the Puneri Paltan, who were finding it tough to go through the gears. At the half time break, the UP Yoddhas led 21-11.
The second half started off in similar fashion – the UP Yoddhas were out of the blocks quicker and the tall raiders were taking big strides away from the Puneri Paltan. The defending champions though stuck to their plans and foiled a couple of crucial attacks, including a Mohit Goyat Super Tackle on Gagan Gowda, which brought the deficit down to five points.
Suddenly, the Puneri Paltan were looking like a very different team – Pankaj Mohite, Mohit Goyat and Aryavardhan Navale were leading the charge, and had wrestled away the momentum from the UP Yoddhas. At the half-hour mark, it was anybody’s game, with the difference between both sides at 5 points.
With less than 10 minutes in the game, Gagan Gowda completed his Super 10. For the Puneri Paltan, there was still quite a bit to do, and even though Pankaj Mohite was doing his best, Gagan Gowda was proving to be the difference. Eventually, the Puneri Paltan drove the UP Yoddhas close, but the defending champions fell just short.
Mighty Maninder’s Heroics Go in Vain as Telugu Titans Reign Supreme Against Bengal Warriorz
The Telugu Titans and the Bengal Warriorz played out a close and thrilling contest in other PKL match. The Telugu Titans, who are having their best ever season in the competition won the game 34-32. For the Telugu Titans, Vijay Malik scored 11 points and Ashish Narwal added 9 points to the cause. Meanwhile Maninder Singh finished with 14 points and Manjeet got 7 of his own for the Bengal Warriorz.
The Telugu Titans were out of the blocks faster than their opponents, but the Bengal Warriorz were staying within touching distance. It was neck and neck in the initial stages, as both sides traded blows. For the Bengal Warriorz, Manjeet was holding the fort in defence along with Fazel Atrachali, while Vijay Malik and Ashish Narwal were in charge for the Telugu Titans.
Midway through the first half, the Telugu Titans and the Bengal Warriorz were on level terms, with the Season 7 champions looking the better of the two sides. A 3-point raid for Ashish Narwal gave the Telugu Titans some breathing space in the final minutes of the first half. After that though, Maninder Singh raided and landed a Super Tackle, to bring the Bengal Warriorz right back. At half-time, the Telugu Titans led 16-15.
A Maninder Singh raid and a Dipak Shinde Super Tackle kicked off proceedings for the Bengal Warriorz in the second half, as they got their noses out in front in the early exchanges. However, the Telugu Titans fought back and levelled things quite quickly, and then proceeded to land an ALL OUT on the Bengal Warriorz as well.
At the half-hour mark, the Telugu Titans led the contest by 2 points, but Mighty Maninder had completed yet another Super 10, and the Bengal Warriorz were looking solid. Ashish Narwal then landed a 4-point raid, to give the Telugu Titans a 5-point lead, in what was becoming nothing short of a nail-biter of a game.
From then on in, the Telugu Titans took control of the game, and heading into the final few minutes of the game, they had a 4-point lead. And even though Maninder tried his best to mount a comeback for the Bengal Warriorz, the Telugu Titans came away with the win.
