Puneri Paltan register hattrick of wins with victory over U.P. Yoddha

A sensational 14-point performance from raider Mohit Goyat and Aslam Inamdar’s magnificent all-round display saw Puneri Paltan beat U.P. Yoddha 44-38. With this win, the Paltan cut the gap to third-place on the points table to just five points.

Inamdar gave the Paltan a perfect start, picking up a Super Raid in the game’s first raid to put his team in the ascendancy. Pune’s defence got in the act as well, adding three tackle points to their team’s total, which left U.P. Yoddha with just two players on the mat. Mohit Goyat picked up a touch point before the defence pinned down the final man, as the Paltan inflicted the game’s first All-Out and took an eight-point lead.

U.P. managed to curb the Paltan’s surge, courtesy of stellar raiding from Pardeep Narwal and Surender Gill. Their third raider, Shrikant Jadhav, turned the tide of the contest on its head with a two-point raid, which left the Paltan with just two men on the mat. The Paltan picked up a bonus, but U.P. responded with a touch point, leaving Pune with just a solitary man on the mat.

Inamdar picked up another bonus and managed to keep the All Out at bay with a touch point. But in the subsequent raid, Gill managed to tag both defenders and wrestled past them to inflict an All Out on the Paltan and cut U.P.’s deficit to just three points just before halftime.

U.P. Yoddha started the second half brighter, but two successful raids from Goyat, which yielded three touch points put the Paltan back in the driver’s seat. Skipper Nitin Tomar’s sensational Dash on Surender left U.P. with just two men on the mat. In the subsequent raid to inflict, Goyat managed to tag both U.P. defenders before diving past the midline to help the Paltan inflict an All Out and take a 12-point lead.

U.P. stormed back into the game, courtesy of Super Raids from Pardeep and Gill, leaving the Paltan with just two men on the mat. Gill then tagged both remaining defenders and got his hand across the midline to help U.P. inflict an All Out and cut the Paltan’s lead to four points.

With U.P.’s raiders threatening to take the game away from their team, the Paltan’s defence stepped up and tackled Gill and Pardeep in quick succession to push their team’s advantage to six points. Goyat added more points to his and the Paltan’s total as they built a sizeable lead to put victory out of sight for U.P.

Trailing by eight, U.P. had one raid to rescue a point from the contest. Gill managed to tag two defenders before diving across the midline to help U.P. get the deficit under seven, but it was the Paltan who took home a key victory.

Top Performers

Puneri Paltan

Best Raider – Mohit Goyat (14 Raid Points)

Best Defender – Abinesh Nadarajan (4 Tackle Points)

U.P. Yoddha

Best Raider – Surender Gill (16 Raid Points)

Best Defender – Nitesh Kumar (2 Tackle Points)