Puneri Paltan made a strong comeback in the second half to narrowly beat Dabang Delhi 34-31 in Vivo Pro Kabaddi League Season 5, here on Sunday. It was a disappointing end to the season for Dabang Delhi as they lost for 16th time. Even though they were ahead for most part of the match, Puneri Paltan turned the match on its head in the last five minutes. Deepak Hooda was the man of the match for Pune and ended up with 10 raid points. Rajesh Mondal also made crucial raids for Puneri Paltan and scored seven raid points. Abolfazl was the most successful raider for Dabang Delhi as he scored eight points.

Having already secured a place in the super playoffs, Puneri Paltan have 73 points from 19 matches and are third in Zone A. Dabang Delhi’s dismal season came to an end as they finished bottom of the table with 38 points from 22 matches.

PuneriPaltan made a quick start to lead 3-0 after two minutes. Dabang Delhi scored two points with a tackle to open their account and trailed 2-3 after three minutes. Another tackle point in the fifth minute by Delhi made it all square at 4-4.

Akshay Jadhav scored a raid point in the 10th minute as Puneri Paltan led 8-6.Dabang Delhi scored four points in the next five minutes to lead 10-8. Dabang Delhi inflicted an all out in the 16th minute to lead 13-9. Puneri Paltanwere struggling to come to terms with Delhi as they trailed 10-14 at the end of the first half.

It was a similar story at the start of the second half as Delhi continued to score tackle points and led 18-13 after 25 minutes. Deepak Hooda scored with a two-point raid in the 30th minute as Puneri Paltan trailed 17-21.

Puneri Paltan were slowly cutting Dabang Delhi’s lead as Suresh Kumar came up with a two-point raid in the 32nd minute. Puneri Paltan inflicted an all out in the 35th minute to 27-25 and turn the tables on Dabang Delhi. Deepak Hooda came up with a super raid in the next minute as Puneri Paltan extended their lead to 31-25. Dabang Delhi scored two points in a minute to trail 27-31 after 36 minutes. In the last few tense minutes of the match, Puneri Paltan held their nerve and prevailed 34-31.

Bengaluru Bulls beatUP Yoddha 38-32

Bengaluru Bulls produced a measured a performance to beat UP Yoddha 36-30 in the Vivo Pro Kabaddi Season 5. Despite the loss, UP Yoddha became the sixth and last team to seal their spot in the super playoffs.Mahender Singh was superb in defence and scored 10 tackle points for Bengaluru Bulls.  Rohit Kumar was in fine raiding form and scored 13 points to lead Bulls to a much-needed victory. With Nitin Tomar missing, UP Yoddha were reliant on Rishank Devadiga who couldn’t deliver. Surender Singh scored 10 raid points for UP Yoddha but didn’t get enough support from his defence.

Bengaluru Bulls climbed off the bottom of the table in Zone B and are now fourth with 49 points from 20 matches. UP Yoddha are third with 60 points from 21 matches.

Rishank Devadiga made a successful raid in the second minute to give UP Yoddha 4-1 lead. Ajay Kumar scored a raid point in the fourth minute as Bengaluru Bulls leveled the match at 5-5. It was an evenly matched contest with both teams trading raid and tackle points equally. Rohit Kumar scored his first raid point in the 11th minute as Bengaluru Bulls drew level at 9-9.

In the next couple of minutes Bengaluru Bulls went on a rampage and scored 10 points without a reply from UP Yoddha. Rohit Kumar made a couple of raid points and Bengaluru Bulls scored three tackle points as well. Bengaluru Bulls inflicted an all out in the 15th minute. At the end of the first half, Bengaluru Bulls led 19-9.

UP Yoddha began the second half strongly as Surender Singh scored a super raid and trailed 14-21 after 23 minutes. Surender Singh scored a two-point raid in the 27th minute as UP trailed 20-26. Bengaluru Bulls forced a super tackle in the 29th minute to lead 29-20.

Bengaluru Bulls were being put under pressure by UP Yoddha in the second half but didn’t relent. UP Yoddha inflicted an all out in the 35th minute to trail 27-33. Ajay Kumar made a crucial raid in the 37th minute to give Bengaluru Bulls 35-30 lead. Rohit Kumar scored two more raid points in the final few minutes to give Bengaluru Bulls 38-32 victory.