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PKL Season 6, Match 26: Puneri Paltan clinch the Maharashtrian derby in a thriller contest

Siddharth Desai dazzled with 15 raid points.
Siddharth Desai dazzled with 15 raid points.

In a thriller of a contest, Puneri Paltan pipped their state rivals U Mumba to clinch the match 33-32 in the dying moments of the encounter.

Into the 8th minute of the second half, the scoreline read 26-18 in favour of the home side, Puneri Paltan, who extended their first-half lead to sit in a comfortable winning position. But, defensive lapses by the Paltan and a terrific raiding performance by the rookie Siddharth Desai, brought U Mumba on level terms with just 1 minute remaining in the game.

But, an accidental step into the lobby by Siddharth Desai without a touch on the opposition's defence gave Puneri Paltan a two-point lead courtesy a Super Tackle and gave them the lead that they needed going into the final raid of the match.

GB More was tackled in the final raid of the match, as U Mumba managed to wrestle back a point but with the umpires declaring the end of the match, their hopes of a final raid were crushed. And the match ended 33-32 and gave Puneri Paltan the winning momentum that they had desperately strived for.

Siddharth Desai was the top performer for U Mumba, yet again, as he scored 15 raid points of his 19 attempted raids and was the primary reason behind U Mumba salvaging a point from the encounter.

The defensive points for the U Mumba were contributed by their captain, Fazel Atrachali (3 points), Rajguru Subramanian (2 points), and Dharmaraj Cheralathan (2 points).

Girish Ernak won the Tata Ace Defender of the Match for his High-5.
Girish Ernak won the Tata Ace Defender of the Match for his High-5.

The reason behind Puneri Paltan's win was a Super-10 by their raiding spearhead, Nitin Tomar with 13 points, and a High-5 by their captain Girish Ernak with 5 tackle points, which helped them take the decisive lead to win the derby.

Puneri Paltan will be in action today evening against the Bengaluru Bulls in the Inter-Zone Challenge Week, while U Mumba will take on the Telugu Titans on Tuesday, the 23rd.

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