Hyderabad, October 29
The Bengal Warriorz and the Puneri Paltan played out an exciting draw on Tuesday at the GMCB Indoor Stadium in Gachibowli, Hyderabad, in PKL Season 11.
The two teams ended the game locked at 32-32. For the Bengal Warriorz, who registered their second consecutive tie, it was Sushil Kambrekar who top-scored with 10 points. That apart, all eyes were on the legendary Fazel Atrachali, who rewrote the history books when he registered his 500th tackle point in PKL and became the first player to do so in the history of the tournament.
It was a cautious start from both the Bengal Warriorz and the Puneri Paltan in the initial minutes, which meant points were hard to come by. However, after the early exchanges, it was the Puneri Paltan who pulled away with a three-point lead, with Mohit Goyat leading the charge.
After that though the Bengal Warriorz fought back and stormed into the lead with Praveen Thakur and captain Fazel Atrachali leading the way. Midway through the first half though the Bengal Warriorz had picked up a 1-point lead in what was turning out to be a tight game. But in the final minutes of the half, Akash Shinde and Abinesh Nadarajan turned on the heat and the Puneri Paltan stormed into a 5-point lead.
With 2 minutes left in the first half, Fazel Atrachali tackled Mohit Goyat and that saw him reach the 500 tackle points mark in the PKL, a feat that has never been achieved before this in the history of the competition. Right after, the teams went into the half-time break with Puneri Paltan leading 15-12.
After the break, the Puneri Paltan further extended their lead with Gaurav Khatri landing an all out on Nitin Dhankhar, which put further pressure on Fazel and co. In response, Sushil Kambrekar inflicted an all out on the Puneri Paltan which brought the Bengal Warriorz right back into the contest. At the midway stage in the second half, the Bengal Warriorz trailed by 4 points. With five minutes to go, Sushil Kambrekar completed his Super 10, and the Bengal Warriorz continued to fight on.
The fightback continued for the Bengal Warriorz and with a couple of minutes to go, they took a slender 1-point lead. However, in the final minute, the Puneri Paltan levelled things up at 32-32 and that's how the contest ended.
Schedule for PKL Season 11 match on Wednesday, October 30:
Match 1 - Gujarat Giants vs Tamil Thalaivas - 8pm Match 2 - UP Yoddhas vs Haryana Steelers - 9 pm.