GUJARAT FORTUNEGIANTSÂ carried on their rampaging form to hand Puneri Paltan their second loss of VIVO Pro Kabaddi Season 5, with a thumping 35-21 win at the Babu Banarasi Das Indoor Stadium at Lucknow on Tuesday. Fazel Atrachali picked up 9 points, the most tackle points this season in a single game, to steer the match away from the Paltan.
The match started with a couple of empty raids but soon Gujarat’s Sachin opened the scoring through his bonus. The first tackle of the evening was initiated by Atrachali, who also thwarted Rajesh Mondal’s effort in the first do-or-die raid of the evening in the 4th minute. Pune had no raid points to their name by the 6th minute, until captain Deepak Hooda came in to pick up a two-pointer.
Till the 10 minute of the first half, the match was evenly poised with the scoreline moving forward uniformly. But, thereafter, Gujarat returned to their element and kept on picking points through both attack and defence. Their form handed Pune their first All-Out of the match in the 14th minute.Â
Pune had failed to garner a single point since the 7th minute of the game, and broke the drought as late as in the 18th minute, through a Sandeep Narwal tackle. As the half time whistle blew with Gujarat leading 16-7, they looked the more cohesive side of the two.
Pune started the second half with intent, picking up two quick points but Gujarat were in no mood to let the lead slip. The pace of the match, however, gradually slowed down with do-or-die raids dictating terms, and the scoreline reading 22-12 by the 30th minute.
Pune did try to lessen the gap, and succeeded to bring it down to 24-18. But that was the best they could come up with. Led at the back by the effervescent Atrachali and substitute Pawan Sehrawat’s two-pointer up front, the Zone A table-toppers handed Pune their second All-Out of the match to win their sixth game in their last seven matches.
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