Puneri Paltan was one of the dominant sides in vivo Pro Kabaddi Season 9. They looked a totally different team after the inclusion of their captain, Fazel Atrachali. The Paltan had a good outing in Season 8 but looked a much-improved side in the recent edition and finished the campaign as runners-up. They had good bench strength that showed their capability whenever they got an opportunity. The youngsters on the side were up and running for Puneri Paltan whenever they stepped on the mat. As a captain, Fazel Atrachali backed his players exceptionally well and the players also delivered good returns.

After going winless in the first three matches, Puneri Paltan made a good comeback and claimed six wins and tied a match in seven matches thereafter. The Pune crowd was on its feet as the Paltan were unbeaten in five out of the seven matches that they played in the second leg at their hometown. In the final leg of vivo PKL, the team went full throttle in the race for the top two spots and won six matches to end their league stage on a high. Though they made a direct qualification for the Semi-final comfortably, they faced a tough challenge while proceeding for the Final. In the Final, they went down fighting in a close encounter.

The trio of Akash Shinde, Aslam Inamdar and Mohit Goyat turned out to be an effective one for the Paltan in the attack. Shinde was the best man in attack for the Paltan who came up with 139 raid points. The youngster was on top of his game and produced five Super Raids and Super 10s each. Inamdar scored a point less (138 raid points) than Shinde and was a reliable raider for the franchise. His quick feet made him a nightmare for defenders as he knew the art of
stealing the bonus from the opposition. Goyat was brilliant right from the word go and he earned 120 raid points and 17 tackle points in the tournament. He earned four Super Raids and Super 10s apiece for the side. Pankaj Mohite (52 raid points) and Aditya Shinde (20 raid points) looked decent in their matches.

On the defence front, Fazel Atrachali was the leading scorer for the Paltan as he scored 56 tackle points. He showed his prowess not just in the defence but he was also excellent with the captaincy duty. Sombir and Abinesh Nadarajan were the helping hands for his captain in the defence with 35 and 34 tackle points respectively. Fazel Atrachali also got good support from his countryman Mohammad Nabibakhsh who scored 36 points for the side. Sanket Sawantlooked decent for his 30 tackle points in the tournament.

Season 9 was the best-ever campaign for Puneri Paltan. Fazel Atrachali was fantastic in marshalling his troops. In every second game that they won, we saw a new face taking up the scoring responsibility for the side and that was the key to their success in Season 9.

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