U.P. Yoddha see off Puneri Paltan’s late charge to secure win

U.P. Yoddha bounced back from their loss last night with a 35-30 win over Puneri Paltan at the Thyagaraj Sports Complex in Delhi on Monday. Shrikant Jadhav scored 15 raid points for them on the night, while Sumit finished with a High 5.

Neither team managed to open up a big lead early in the contest and kept abreast of each other for most of the opening 10 minutes. A couple of two-point raids by Jadhav though helped inflict an All-Out and gave U.P. Yoddha a 12-6 lead with around seven minutes left in the half.

Both sets of defences came to the fore in the closing stages of the opening period as Jadhav and the rest of the raiders found success more difficult to come by after the All-Out. Having said that, U.P. Yoddha went into the break firmly on top with a 16-9 lead and all their players on court as opposed to Puneri Paltan’s five men on the mat.

The second period began with Puneri Paltan’s best player from the first half, Manjeet, score three raid points in his opening two raids. However, solid defending from U.P. Yoddha’s skipper Nitesh Kumar, Ashu SIngh and Sumit ensured that both Manjeet and Puneri Paltan couldn’t build much momentum.

Puneri Paltan continued to fight to their credit and even produced a Super Tackle after Amit Kumar got the better of Mohsen Maghsoudlou. Undeterred, U.P. Yoddha continued to execute their gameplan and after yet another two-point raid by Jadhav, they enforced a second All-Out on Puneri Paltan to extend their lead to 28-17.

Even though U.P. Yoddha had a 11-point lead with nine minutes left in the game, Puneri Paltan still harboured hopes of a win with a late fightback. Puneri Paltan’s Manjeet went on to match Jadhav’s Super 10 display on the night and even helped inflict an All-Out in the last few minutes. Jadhav though responded with a couple of successful raids to put the game to bed and secure U.P. Yoddha’s fourth win of the campaign.

Top Performers:

Puneri Paltan –

Best Raider – Manjeet (16 Raid Points)

Best Defender – Balasaheb Jadhav (4 Tackle Points)

U.P. Yoddha –

Best Raider – Shrikant Jadhav (15 Raid Points)

Best Defender – Sumit (5 Tackle Points)