AHMEDABAD: The battle which looked equal on papers became completely one sided on mat as Pune defeated Bengal 34-17 in Pro Kabaddi League Season 5 match at the Arena Stadium in Ahmedabad on Tuesday.
In an Inter Zone Challenge Contest where Bengal’s challenge was to come out strong as raiding team failed completely as their raider Jan Kun Lee only scored one point, while Maninder Singh was the lone warrior who scored seven points for Bengal.
“Every team is strong and Bengal is very good team but our defenders performed brilliantly and they tackled Jang Kun Lee very well and even Maninder was caught many times that’s why match became one sided,” Puneri Paltan captain Deepak Hooda told a post-match conference.
Hooda and company took couple of minutes to settle before taking control over the match and managed to hold the superior grip till the end.
“Jang Kun Lee is a very good player, I wished if he had a good day then we could have won the match. It was a bad day for him and though Maninder played well, he lacked support in the middle. We need to work on our mistakes,” said Surjeet Singh, Bengal Warriors captain.
“When the team is doing well you need to control and keep on explaining them how and where we can score points. Every player supported each other,” said birthday boy Hooda
“Girish Ernak and Sandeep Narwal did many tackles, while GB More was very good in ‘do or die raid’ so overall I am satisfied with this victory.”
SHARP SANDEEP
Pune forced first ‘all out’ over Bengal Warriors in the 15th minute with Sandeep Narwal’s ‘super raid’ and after that it was an all-Pune show.
“Speed comes naturally in my raiding. I need be aware while moving quickly over the opponent’s mat,” said Sandeep Narwal.
TESTING BENCH STRENGTH
Zia-ur Rahman, the from Bangladesh, and Monu made debut for Puneri Paltan on Tuesday. Zia-ur was in the playing seven, while Monu was a substitute player.
Pune will play their next match against Patna Pirates at Babu Banarasi Das Indoor Stadium in Lucknow on Sunday, August 20, in their second inter-zone challenge.
RESULTS:
Match 1:
Puneri Paltan 34 (Sandeep Narwal 7, GB More 6, Girish Ernak 4) beat Bengal Warriors 17 (Ran Singh 7, Maninder Singh 6, Rahul Kumar 1)
Best defender: Sandeep Narwal (Puneri Paltan)
Best raider: GB More (Puneri Paltan)
Match 2:
Gujarat Fortunegiants 27 (Mahendra Rajput 4, Sachin 4, Parvesh Bhainswal 4, Rohit Gulia 4) beat Bengaluru Bulls 24 (Rohit Kumar 7, Kuldeep Singh 5, Mahender Singh 3)
Best defender: Parvesh Bhainswal (Gujarat Fortunegiants)
Best raider: Mahendra Rajput (Gujarat)
