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The Puneri Paltan enjoyed a successful homecoming as the Girish-Ernak led side overcame a deficit to pull things back and register a 30-30 tie over the Jaipur Pink Panthers at the Shree Shiv Chhatrapati Sports Complex in Pune.
Nitin Tomar's continued absence seemed to dent the Pune confidence as More GB's bonus attempts did not receive any support from Monu or Akshay Jadhav that saw the Panthers run away with the lead in the first half.
However, a rejuvenated Pune lineup started to fire on all cylinders in the second half as led by Girish Ernak, who picked up six points to notch up a 'High-5', the Paltan claimed the lead with a little over 10 minutes left on the clock before the two teams dealt blow for blow until the penultimate raid.
With the score reading 29-30 in favour of Pune, Deepak Hooda's valiant attempt to bring home the win went in vain as the umpires ruled against the touch on Sandeep Narwal as a visibly fuming Deepak Hooda levelled the scores which meant both teams finished with three points each. Here are the player ratings from the match.
Puneri Paltan
Girish Ernak - 8.5/10
The Pune skipper was in good nick in the first half as he picked three tackle points and kept the threat of Ajinkya Pawar at bay. In the second half, the skipper added three more points to his tally and finished with a much-deserved 'High-5'.
More GB - 7/10
More GB was yet again given the responsibility of playing the lead raider which he did pull off to a certain extent as he kept chipping away with the bonus points and also contributed with one vital tackle point.
Deepak Dahiya - 7/10
Deepak Dahiya looked a little flustered in the first half as he picked just two raid points with a few running hand touches but made a comeback in the second half to keep Pune in the hunt.
Monu - 6.5/10
Young all-rounder Monu seemed a pale shadow of himself as he was brought down on a couple of occasions and finished with just three raid points in the game.
Ravi Kumar - 5.5/10
The cover defender did not have much to contribute all throughout the game as he put in just the three tackles and picked up one tackle point.
Sandeep Narwal - 6/10
The burly all-rounder was hardly in his element as his aggression went missing in the game and apart from the controversial bonus and touch points, he did not have much of a say.
Akshay Jadhav - 4/10
The all-rounder was sent in for a majority of the empty raids as he played only a quiet presence on the mat in both the raiding and defence departments.
Jaipur Pink Panthers
Anup Kumar - 6.5/10
The Jaipur skipper's woeful run continued as he picked just a solitary point from the game and also gifted away points to the opposition raiders with some poor tackles.
Deepak Hooda - 9/10
The all-rounder picked up his fourth 'Super-10' in a row as he kept the scoreboard ticking all through the game and ensured that his team was in the hunt for the win at all times. He was also instrumental in claiming the final point, which ensured that the Panthers did not lose the game.
Amit Kumar - 7.5/10
Young Amit Kumar was a force to reckon with in the defensive unit as he attempted four ankle holds and picked a point each but was not very successful in his raids tonight.
Mohit Chhillar - 7/10
The right corner enjoyed a successful opening half as he picked two tackle points and continued his fine form as he played the supporting role to perfection.
Sandeep Dhull - 7/10
The left corner of the Panthers continued his good run as his ankle holds and back holds made the raiding a tad bit more difficult for the likes of GB More and Monu.
Ajinkya Pawar - 4.5/10
The nippy raider failed to pick up from where he left off as he picked just the one raid point from seven raids and did not do justice to the start that he was awarded.
Sunil Siddhgavali - 4/10
The left cover defender was in poor form all throughout the game as he was caught off-guard on quite a few occasion which helped the Pune raiders to collect points at crucial stages.
Substitutes
Ajit Singh - 7.5/10
Ajit Singh struck on his first raid off the benches as he got a touch point on the Do or Die raid and continued to impress as he finished with two important raid points.
Santhapanaselvam - 7/10
The burly defender was sent in with just two men on the mat and did well to trap More GB on the mat with a firm double ankle hold which resulted in a super tackle but also gifted a point to Monu on his next tackle.
Nitin Rawal - 5/10
The young all-rounder was brought in during the dying minutes of the game and did not contribute in either department.
