Bengal Warriors best Puneri Paltan in low scoring thriller

Bengal Warriors rode on several key individual performances to defeat Puneri Paltan 26-22 in a low scoring thriller at The Arena by TransStadia in Ahmedabad on Saturday. More G B’s nine-point effort wasn’t enough for Puneri Paltan as Bengal Warriors reached the top half of Zone B with a victory.

Puneri Paltan started the game on a high courtesy of More who got them two bonus points. Ravindra Ramesh Kumawat got Bengal Warriors their first points with a touch on opposing captain Girish Maruti Ernak as they opted to play on the Do-or-Die raids early in the game.

Check out the photos from the match here.

A brilliant Back Hold by Baldev Singh on More levelled the scores before Puneri Paltan started building a lead. More then got touch points on Baldev and Ran Singh to increase their lead to three points. Kumawat escaped Ernak’s Ankle Hold in a Do-or-Die raid to level the scores at 7-7.

Monu’s double Thigh Hold on Mithin Kumar got Puneri Paltan their first tackle points in the 16^th minute to reduce Bengal Warriors to three players on the mat.

Bengal Warriors responded immediately with the first Super Tackle of the game as Vijin Thangadurai got Akshay Jadhav, to cut the deficit down to two points. The lead was further brought down to just a point going into halftime as Puneri Paltan took a slender 13-12.

The first six points of the second half were all scored on the Do-or-Die raids as the defence of both teams stepped up and ensured no raid points were scored for the first 10 minutes of the half.

Maninder Singh got the half’s first raid points with a touch on Monu to level the scores at 16 apiece. This point was also the first one not scored in a Do-or-Die raid in the half. Bengal Warriors continued this momentum and gained their first lead of the half in the 14^th minute courtesy a touch on Parvesh from Kumawat.

Maninder used this impetus to reduce Puneri Paltan to two men on the mat as he got touches on Ernak and More to increase Bengal Warriors’ lead to two points with the scores reading 21-19. Off his next raid, he got a touch on Sandeep Narwal as Jadhav stepped out of the playing area to hand Bengal Warriors the only All-Out of the game in the 19^th minute.

Visit the matchcentre to relive the contest here.

With a six-point lead and the game seemingly in the bag, Bengal Warriors just gave away the bonus points to Puneri Paltan to win the game 26-22. The 48-point aggregate was the lowest match aggregate this season beating the 52-point game between U.P. Yoddha and Telugu Titans earlier in the season.

Top Performers

Puneri Paltan

Best Raider: More G B (9 raid points)

Best Defender: Girish Maruti Ernak (3 tackle points)

Bengal Warriors

Best Raider: Maninder Singh (6 raid points)

Best Defender: Vijin Thangadurai (3 tackle points)