Puneri Paltan settle for tie against U Mumba in a thrilling Maharashtra Derby

·        Puneri Paltan and U Mumba play out tie with 33-33

·        Manjeet awarded Ace Defender and Game Changer of the match

Bengaluru, 5^th September 2019: Puneri Paltan put up a stellar performance in the closely contested ‘Maharashtra Derby’ which ended in a 33-33 tie at the Sree Kanteerava Stadium in Bengaluru. Puneri Paltan dominated U Mumba in the encounter that went on till the last raid.

The match got off to a slow start with both sets of raiders cautious of the strong defences they were up against. Nitin Tomar was bullied off the mat in his first raid of the match and that set the tone for the first half with both sets of defences performing admirable tackles.

Pune’s Manjeet showed his versatility as an All-Rounder, pulling off impressive Super Tackles. But Mumbai’s raiders inflicted the first All-Out of the match in the tenth minute to open up a six-point lead. Pune didn’t lose their cool after the All-Out though and ensured they stayed in the game for the remainder of the first half. Mumbai led Pune 16-12 at half-time.

The second half told the story of Puneri Paltan’s stunning resurgence. Pune, coached by former U Mumba star Anup Kumar, kept doing their work cleverly in the second half, and a smart by young raider Pankaj Mohite, jumping into the lobby when he saw the defenders rushing at him, fetched his side three points and pushed the Mumbai teams towards an All-Out. Pune clinched the All-Out within five minutes after the restart to level the points at 20-20. With Nitin Tomar out injured, the raiding duties had fallen heavily on Manjeet’s shoulder but the all-rounder was more than up to the challenge. His three-point raid in the tenth minute meant U Mumba had to face another battle to prevent an All-Out – one which they failed with five minutes remaining to hand over a six-point lead to Pune. But Abhishek Singh’s raiding allowed the Mumbai side to make a comeback and level the points in the penultimate move of the match. Hadi Tajik held his ground in the final raid to see out a draw.

Puneri Paltan is all set for the upcoming leg and is ready to take Kolkata by storm. The team will take on home team Bengal Warriors on 8^th September 2019. Fans can catch all the action on Star Sports Network and Hotstar.

Today’s Match Awards:

• VIVO PERFECT RAIDER OF THE MATCH
• ABHISHEK SINGH (JERSEY NO. 7) – U MUMBA

• TATA MOTORS ACE DEFENDER OF THE MATCH
• MANJEET (JERSEY NO. 3) – PUNERI PALTAN

• DREAM11 GAME CHANGER OF THE MATCH
• MANJEET (JERSEY NO. 3) – PUNERI PALTAN

• MOMENT OF THE MATCH
• ABHISHEK SINGH (JERSEY NO. 7) – U MUMBA

Points Table:

RANK	TEAM	MATCHES PLAYED	WON	LOST	DRAW	Score Difference	POINTS
1	DABANG DELHI K.C	12	10	1	1	62	54
2	BENGALURU BULLS	14	8	6	0	15	43
3	HARYANA STEELERS	12	8	4	0	7	41
4	BENGAL WARRIORS	12	6	4	2	64	40
5	JAIPUR PINK PANTHERS	13	7	6	0	3	38
6	U MUMBA	12	6	6	0	15	37
7	U.P.YODDHA	12	5	5	2	-68	32
8	GUJARAT FORTUNEGIANTS	12	5	7	0	13	30
9	TELUGU TITANS	12	4	6	2	-35	29
10	PUNERI PALTAN	12	4	7	1	-31	28
11	TAMIL THALAIVAS	13	3	8	2	-14	27
12	PATNA PIRATES	12	3	9	0	-31	20