Raiders star as Puneri Paltan completely obliterates Telugu Titans in a high-scoring encounter
The Puneri Paltan secured a massive 20-point win over the Telugu Titans in ‘Match 112’ of the Pro Kabaddi League Season 8. This win will significantly boost the chances of Pune cementing a top-six spot. It was complete dominance from the Paltan as they mercilessly went about their business right from the opening whistle of the contest.
The Titans, who had already been eliminated from the tournament, were completely helpless and looked out of sorts against a rampaging Pune side. The only positive for the Titans was Ankit Beniwal’s Super 10. Apart from Beniwal, the Titans’ players crumbled in front of Pune’s might.
Mohit Goyat stole the limelight with 14 points to his name, two of which were obtained in the defensive scheme of things. His raiding partner, Aslam Inamdar notched up 11 points. Sombir and Vishal Bharadwaj, the two corner defenders for Pune secured 6 points apiece. It was a comprehensive performance for the Paltan and the side will certainly be pleased with it.
Pune was right on top from the start of the match as in his second raid, Inamdar picked up three points, consisting of two touches and one bonus. Ankit Beniwal and Galla Raju scored a raid point each but a top effort from Mohit Goyat to tackle Beniwal stole the momentum away from the Titans.
Pune kept picking up points and reduced the Titans to just three men but consecutive Super Tackles by the Titans on Mohit Goyat and then Inamdar helped them not only delay the all-out but also put the score at 8-10 in favor of Pune.
However, Aslam and Mohit got points for their side and inflicted the inevitable all-out on the Titans to assume a 17-11 lead. The Pune side kept collecting points and the Titans were staring at yet another all-out at the end of the first half as they were reduced to two men. Aslam went in for the final raid of the first half and was brought down by Akash Choudhary and Surinder Singh. The scoreboard read 22-15 in favor of Paltan going into the second half of the contest.
At the start of the second half, the Pune side picked up a couple of points, and the Titans were reduced to a single man on the mat. Rakesh Gowda came in for the raid and picked up a bonus point along with a touch on Nitin Tomar, who had run around for an unnecessary dash.
The Titans put in another Super Tackle on Inamdar after that. However, Akash, while assisting in the tackle, held Inamdar’s neck and was issued a yellow card. He could not join the side back before the all-out was inflicted, as Prince D was tackled after he was the last man standing. The scoreboard read 29-19 and after that, it was Pune all along.
Inamdar brought up his Super 10 and points in the defense combined with Mohit putting in consecutive successful raids helped Pune gain a massive 36-21 lead. Goyat notched up his Super 10 after escaping from Akash’s ankle hold and fetching a point reducing the Titans to one man in the process.
Aslam Inamdar was sensational as he picked up another Super 10
The Titans avoided the all-out once again but it was just delaying the inevitable as Vishal Bharadwaj tackled the raider to inflict the all-out on the Titans. Ankit Beniwal kept putting in raids but it was to no avail as from the other side, the Pune outfit kept picking up points.
Sombir brought up his High 5 after which both sides kept picking up single points to keep the scoreboard ticking along. Ankit Beniwal got to the Super 10 mark with another multi-point raid as he escaped the dash attempt of two Pune defenders. Nitin Tomar returned the favor with a two-point raid of his own in the dying moments of the game after which Vishal Bharadwaj tackled Beniwal to seal the game.
The Puneri Paltan rise to the seventh position with this win and are suddenly one of the better teams this season. They have found form in the business end of the tournament and Anup Kumar’s young men will be looking to make the playoffs.