PKL 2019: Puneri Paltan settle for tie against U Mumba in a thrilling Maharashtra Derby

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.