PKL: Bengaluru Bulls, Gujarat Giants play out draw; U Mumba beat Puneri Paltan

Bengaluru Bulls and Gujarat Giants played out an absolute thriller to kick off the Pune leg of PKL Season 11, at the Balewadi Sports Complex’s Badminton Hall in Match 89. Both teams finished with the scores at 34-34.

U Mumba, on the other hand, pummelled Puneri Paltan 43-29 in the second match of the evening.

For the Bengaluru Bulls, Nitin Rawal bagged 7 points while Pardeep Narwal and Sushil scored 6 each. However, the Gujarat Giants, who led for most parts of the game, had Rakesh registering 7 points and Neeraj getting a High-5 as well.

The Gujarat Giants got off to a quick start, with the defensive unit led by Rohit thwarting the Bengaluru Bulls’ early advances. However, the Bengaluru Bulls’ defenders too stepped up to the mat with vigour, ensuring that the Gujarat Giants would not be able to run away with an early lead. After the first five minutes, the Gujarat Giants were leading the battle of the defences by two points.

Soon after, the Gujarat Giants’ Parteek Dahiya started to land a few quick raids, which gave them the momentum. The Bengaluru Bulls though weren’t backing off with Nitin Rawal, Jai Bhagwan and Parteek looking effective in their respective roles. Pardeep Narwal scored his first points after the 12 minutes, and a little later, the Bengaluru Bulls were on level terms with the Gujarat Giants. Pardeep Narwal notched up a few more valuable raids in the final minutes of the first half, to give the Bengaluru Bulls the lead at the break. At half-time, the Bengaluru Bulls led 15-13.

Rakesh’s raids helped the Gujarat Giants begin the second half strongly, after which the Neeraj forced an ALL OUT on the Bengaluru Bulls. The Gujarat Giants were back in the lead and were looking to grab the bull by its horns.

But as the half wore on, the Bengaluru Bulls kept chipping away at the lead. Jai Bhagwan and Sushil combined to reduce a five-point gap to two. Rakesh was making a big impact on the contest with a flurry of important raids, which helped the Gujarat Giants keep their noses out in front.

With less than a quarter of the game to go, the Gujarat Giants held onto their lead, but the Bengaluru Bulls were doing their best to mount a comeback. Nitin Rawal was soldiering on in defence while Sushil and Jai Bhagwan were battling it out in attack, along with Pardeep Narwal for the Bengaluru Bulls.

As the final five minutes began, the Gujarat Giants led by five points. In the final minutes, Neeraj and Nitin Rawal registered their High-5s for their respective teams. But there was more drama in store, as the teams went into the final thirty seconds with the scores tied. And it remained that way at the final whistle.

U Mumba register a comprehensive win

The Puneri Paltan’s fans turned up in huge numbers in the Badminton Hall at the Balewadi Sports Complex in Pune when they took on the U Mumba in Match 90.

However, the home fans returned disappointed, as U Mumba walked away with a 43-29 win on the night, with Ajit Chauhan scoring 12 points, along with Manjeet, who added 5 more to the cause. Defenders Sunil Kumar and Sombir registered High-5s for the U Mumba as well. For the Puneri Paltan, Pankaj Mohite had the best outing with 9 points to his name.

The win now gives U Mumba bragging rights in the Maharashtra Derby as they have 11 wins from 24 games against Puneri Paltan. The Season 10 champions, Puneri Paltan, have registered 10 victories in the fixture, while three games have been tied.

Sombir and Manjeet picked up the first points for the U Mumba, but along expected lines, the Puneri Paltan, roared back in the early exchanges. U Mumba though kept up their intensity and very soon, they were all scoring important points in the first quarter of the contest.

Sushil Kumar, Manjeet and Ajit Chauhan were leading the charge for U Mumba, who were looking to pull away with an early lead. Neither side were allowing the opposition an inch on the mat. For the Puneri Paltan, Akash Shinde and Abinesh Nadarajan were having the most impact in the first half, despite being on the wrong end of the scoreline.

Manjeet and Ajit Chauhan though were causing the Puneri Paltan plenty of problems as U Mumba were looking to go through the gears. In the final minutes of the first half, Pankaj Mohite ran through the U Mumba defence with a three-point raid, giving the Puneri Paltan an important but slender lead. Pankaj Mohite’s onslaught continued, and with a bit of help from the defenders, the Puneri Paltan landed an emphatic ALL OUT on U Mumba, and snatched the lead just before the break. At half-time, the Puneri Paltan led by 19-16, and the Pune crowd were understandably delighted.

Ajit Chauhan wiped out the lead with the first play of the second half, as he landed an impressive Super Raid on the Puneri Paltan. And then he came back for more, to restore U Mumba’s lead. Before the first six minutes of the second half were over, Ajit Chauhan completed his Super 10, and also inflicted an ALL OUT on the Puneri Paltan. The U Mumba were dominant, but the defending champions weren’t throwing in the towel.

With the game approaching the half-hour mark, the U Mumba side led by 8 points, and had managed to thwart the likes of Pankaj Mohite and V Ajith. As the contest went into the final phase, the Puneri Paltan started to mount one last fight back. Pankaj Mohite had a couple of successful moments, but Sunil Kumar, Sombir, both of whom had completed their High-5s were having none of that.

Manjeet then picked up an ALL OUT at the expense of Puneri Paltan, which all but sealed the fate of the game. Eventually, U Mumba walked off the mat with a resounding win in the derby.