PKL-12: Puneri Paltan defeated Bengaluru Bulls in a tie-breaker for the second time, climbed to No. 1 in the Points Table

Puneeri Paltan defeated Bengaluru Bulls in a tiebreaker for the second time in the 12th season of the Pro Kabaddi League (PKL). In the 59th match of the season, played on Thursday at the SDA Multi-Purpose Indoor Stadium, the match ended in a 29-29 tie at the end of regular time. After that, Puneeri Paltan won the tiebreaker 6-4.

This victory was Puneeri Paltan’s eighth in 11 matches, and they now sit at the top of the points table with 16 points. On the other hand, Bengaluru Bulls suffered their sixth loss in 11 matches. This was the third time this season that Bengaluru had lost in a tiebreaker.

For Puneeri, Aditya scored seven points, while Gurdeep, captain Pankaj Mohite, and Gaurav Khatri each contributed four points. For Bengaluru, Ashish Malik and Alireza Mirzaian scored six points each.

Puneri Paltan started the match strong and stayed ahead of Bengaluru Bulls in the early minutes. In the eighth minute, Puneri executed an all-out on Bengaluru, taking the score to 10-5. Thanks to Aditya Shinde’s stellar performance, Puneri maintained a 12-9 lead during the first 10 minutes of play.

With contributions from Aditya and Pankaj, Puneeri Paltan led 15-10 by the 15th minute. However, Bengaluru Bulls, led by Alireza Mirzaian, Ashish Malik, and Akash Shinde, stayed in the game. Puneeri Paltan maintained a 17-13 lead at halftime.

After the break, both teams engaged in aggressive tackles, with Bengaluru Bulls starting to close the gap. Puneeri’s lead shrank to just one point. However, Puneeri made a comeback with two consecutive super tackles, extending their lead to three points by the 30th minute.

In the final 10 minutes, the match became intensely competitive. By the 35th minute, Puneeri’s lead was reduced to just two points. In the 38th minute, Bengaluru managed to tie the score at 25-25, and even executed an all-out on Puneeri, taking a 28-25 lead. In the final minute, Puneeri was just one point behind, but they managed to equalize at 29-29, sending the game into a tiebreaker.

This was the second tiebreaker between the two teams this season, and Puneeri Paltan showed exceptional performance, winning the tiebreaker 6-4.