PKL: Puneri Paltan outclass Gujarat Giants; Dabang Delhi edge past Telugu Titans

Bengaluru, Jan. 5: Puneri Paltan's youngsters produced a mature performance to beat the experienced Gujarat Giants 33-26 in a Pro Kabaddi League (PKL) match here on Wednesday.

Mohit Goyat clinched a Super 10 (10 points) for Paltan, his first in PKL, and was ably backed by all-rounder Aslam Inamdar (8 points) as the team moved away from the bottom of the points table.

Gujarat's coach Manpreet Singh will ask questions of his defence which failed to show up once again. The Giants' only relief came in the form of their raiders Ajay Kumar (10 points) and Rakesh S (8 points).

The match was going to be all about how the experienced defensive line-up of Gujarat handled the young Pune raiders. And it was the latter who started well with Mohit Goyat particularly impressive.

Aslam Inamdar and Vishwas S supported Mohit as Pune got their first 'All Out' in the 10th minute.

Left corner Girish Ernak hardly spent time on the mat while Gujarat right corner Ravinder Pahal suffered a knee injury while making a tackle.

Pahal's injury brought Hadi Oshtorak to the mat, but the Iranian wasn't given an opportunity to settle by Mohit Goyat. Pune's raider picked up 8 points in the first half that ended 19-13 in the team's favour. At the other end, Rakesh scored 7 to keep his team alive in the contest.

Pune started the second half with the same intensity and got their second 'All Out' in the fifth minute. Gujarat's experienced defenders struggled to cope with the intensity of Pune's youngsters.

Aslam Inamdar and Vishwas contributed with successful tackles too as the all-rounders ensured Pune maintained a 5-point lead with 10 minutes remaining.

Ajay Kumar secured a Super 10 for Gujarat Giants but Pune kept finding points with Aslam Inamdar shining.

With five minutes on the clock, Pune had an 8-point lead. Parvesh Bhainswal produced two Super Tackles to give Gujarat a glimmer of hope in the final minutes, but the lead proved too much for the Giants to overcome.

Dabang Delhi down Telugu Titans

In the second match of the day Dabang Delhi eked out a 36-35 win over Telugu Titans. The win saw Delhi comfortably sit on top of the table with 26 points from six games.

On the other hand, Telugu Titans are languishing at the eleventh spot of the twelve-team competition with just 10 points from six games. The Titans are yet to win this season.