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Day 72 of the Pro Kabaddi League Season 5 witnessed the Telugu Titans and the Bengal Warriors tied with each other in the first match of the day. In the second matchup of the day, the Gujarat Fortunegiants edged out the Puneri Paltan. Both matches were extremely tight affairs and none of the 4 teams gave an inch. So, without further ado, here are some of the major talking points from both matches.
5. Maninder Singh Rested
Bengal took a big gamble by opting to rest star player Maninder Singh ahead of the playoffs. Despite their main raider's absence, the Warriors were able to hold their own against the Titans. The Titans’ initial burst was contained and the Warriors enforced the first All-Out of the match in the 10th minute for an 11-6 lead.
4. Nilesh Salunke Catches Warriors By Surprise
The Titans counter attacked on the back of a smartly-improvised two-point raid by Nilesh Salunke. That little stunt caught Bengal’s defence napping and sent them reeling. Hyderabad went on to inflict an All-Out of their own on Bengal shortly before the half-time interval to reduce the deficit to 18-16. As a result of the tie, the Bengal Warriors are still sitting pretty on top of Zone B.
But on the other end of the scale, the Titans are 5 points behind the Bengaluru Bulls for a playoffs position. Unfortunately, Telugu Titans have run out of matches, and do not even have a remote chance of qualifying.
3. Man of the Match - Sunil Kumar
Gujarat Fortunegiants beat Puneri Paltan 23-22 in a low-scoring thriller at the Shree Shiv Chhatrapati Sports Complex in Pune on Friday. Defender Sunil Kumar stole the show and clinched the game with some crucial tackles.
The defensive right-cover completed a High 5, and in all picked up a joint game-high seven points. He came through in a pressure situation when Gujarat’s back was against the wall. All his six tackles ended in success, one of which was a super tackle.
2. Zone A Toppers
The debutants once again punched above their weight as they emerged victors with a 23-22 scoreline at the Shree Shiv Chhatrapati Sports Complex in Pune. Gujarat’s Sunil Kumar and Pune’s Rinku Narwal both finished with 7 points in a defender-dominated clash. With this win, Gujarat finished at the top of Zone A and will now face Zone B toppers Bengal Warriors in Qualifier 1, the winner of which will reach the final.
It was no holds barred between both the teams in the early stages with the Gujarat raiders and the Pune tacklers doing the job for their respective teams. The lead kept changing hands and the teams stayed tied at 8-8 in the 12th minute.
1. Desperate Times Call for Desperate Measures
In desperation, Pune brought on their do-or-die specialist in substitute Suresh Kumar, who helped the side equalise at 16-16. Captain Deepak Hooda took charge from there to pull the lead back in favour of the home team. Pune’s star of the night Rinku Narwal also reached his High 5, making sure Gujarat’s raiders found it difficult to make any inroads of their own.
But the Fortunegiants fought back and clawed their way back to a 23-22 victory. This was the final Zone match for both teams but there is no sense of concern in either camp as both have qualified already. Now, all the qualified teams will be preparing for the playoffs kicking off on 23rd October.
