Hyderabad: A complete team performance helped U.P. Yoddhas beat Puneri Paltan 45-41 at the Gachibowli Indoor Stadium on Friday to ensure that their opponents would not finish top of the table going into the Playoffs.
The complete team performance saw three U.P Yoddhas players score five or more points and eight registering at least one point on the scorecard.
The Puneri Paltan and the U.P. Yoddhas were eager to keep the momentum going before heading to Mumbai and putting on a show for the crowd. The regular starters had been benched for this encounter but in their absence, the substitutes grabbed their chance to shine.
Aditya Shinde and Saurabh’s raiding helped Puneri Paltan inflict the first ALL OUT of the game to streak into a 19-10 lead. Right before halftime though the U.P. Yoddhas swung it back in their favour, courtesy of an Anil Kumar Super Raid which took out Shinde, D. Mahindra Prasad and Akash Chaudhary. The teams went into the break with Puneri Paltan leading 22-19.
The U.P. Yoddhas got their own back early in the second half, inflicting an All-Out to draw level and from there a war of attrition began. It was a testament to the U.P. Yoddhas’ depth that despite Narwal’s off day they inflicted another All-Out on Puneri Paltan to take the lead. Durgesh Kumar’s Super Raid had turned the tables on the Puneri Paltan who were suddenly on the ropes.
Puneri Paltan stepped on the gas in the final three minutes, hoping to catch up but a series of Super Tackles kept the U.P. Yoddhas’ lead intact. Puneri Paltan drew close at the end but the UP Yoddhas had done enough to earn a win.
–IANS
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