Pro Kabaddi League 2018, Match 60: Puneri Paltan vs Telugu Titans, Player Ratings
The action from the Mumbai leg of the Pro Kabaddi League Season 6 resumed after a day's break as Puneri Paltan took to the mat to battle against the Telugu Titans in the first match of the inter-zonal challenge week at the NSCI Dome in SVP Stadium, Mumbai.
Puneri Paltan came into the match on the back of a loss against the U Mumba side in the UP leg of the competition. They have been on a poor run of form with just one win in their last five matches in the league. The team had been affected negatively due to the absence of their star man Nitin Tomar due to an ankle injury sustained earlier in the season. Tonight saw the return of the experienced Rajesh Mondal to the starting lineup along with Deepak Kumar Dahiya. Girish Maruti Ernak and Sandeep Narwal maintained their position on the corner reuniting the stellar combination for the Puneri Paltan defensive lineup. Ravi Kumar and Vinod Kumar filled in the cover positions in the defence and the final cog in the lineup was Akshay Jadhav. Jadhav was chosen ahead of the all-rounder Monu in the lineup and was tipped to contribute in both the attack and defence for the team.
Telugu Titans have been on an inconsistent run in the league with two wins, two losses and a drawn match in their last five matches. The team has seen the absence of their skipper Vishal Bhardwaj in the matches but his place has been ably filled by the youngster Krushna Madane on the left corner. The stand-in skipper Abozar Mighani has looked lethal on the right corner with his deadly ankle holds. The Iranian duo of Farhad Milaghardan and Mohsen Maghsoudlou have been consistent with their contributions in both attack and defence. However, their raiding has been a tad short of the expectations with both Rahul Chaudhari and Nilesh Salunke struggling to hit a consistent run of form. The two raiders hoped to step their game against the Puneri Paltan tonight in Mumbai.
Telugu Titans got the win by 28-25, in the end, tonight over Puneri Paltan in a strong all-around performance as Rahul Chaudhari and Nilesh Salunke shine for the Titans.
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Puneri Paltan
Rajesh Mondal - (2/10)
The experienced raider made a start for the Puneri Paltan after a while but was ineffective with his raids and was replaced soon with Monu towards the end of the first half.
Deepak Kumar Dahiya - (3/10)
The lanky raider had a poor first half of the match scoring just one raid point and was caught on two occasions by the Telugu defence.
Akshay Jadhav - (6/10)
The all-rounder started off well in the match scoring a couple of bonus points and even got one Super Tackle to his name. He finished with a total of five points tonight.
Girish Maruti Ernak - (2/10)
The Puneri Paltan skipper's poor form after his initial purple patch continued on as he failed to execute a single tackle point in the first half of the match. He got one tackle point in the second half but will hope for better in the future matches.
Ravi Kumar - (2/10)
The cover defender had a poor night on the mat failing to pick any tackle point in the first half of the match. He added one tackle point in the second half but was poor tonight.
Sandeep Narwal - (7/10)
The 'Beast' Sandeep Narwal was in stellar form tonight scoring six points in the first half of the match. He inflicted two Super Tackles and picked up bonus points to finish as the top scorer for the Pune side.
Vinod Kumar - (2/10)
The defender came into the starting lineup tonight but was an easy target for the Telugu Titans' raiders as he conceded a lot of touch points.
Substitutes
Monu - (6/10)
The all-rounder came on towards the end of the first half and did well to get five points for the Paltan.