Pro Kabaddi League 2017: UP Yoddha go down to Bengaluru Bulls, but advance to playoffs; Puneri Paltan win

Pune: Bengaluru Bulls produced a measured performance to beat UP Yoddha 36-30 in the Pro Kabaddi Season 5, on Sunday. [caption id=“attachment_4146089” align=“alignleft” width=“380”]  Bengaluru Bulls in action against UP Yodha. Image Courtesy: Twitter @BengaluruBulls[/caption] Despite the loss, UP Yoddha became the sixth and last team to seal their spot in the super playoffs. Mahender Singh was superb in defence and scored 10 tackle points for Bengaluru Bulls. Rohit Kumar was in fine raiding form and scored 13 points to lead Bulls to a much-needed victory. With Nitin Tomar missing, UP Yoddha were reliant on Rishank Devadiga who couldn’t deliver. Surender Singh scored 10 raid points for UP Yoddha but didn’t get enough support from his defence. Bengaluru Bulls climbed off the bottom of the table in Zone B and are now fourth with 49 points from 20 matches. UP Yoddha are third with 60 points from 21 matches. In the second match of the day, Puneri Paltan made a strong comeback in the second half to narrowly beat Dabang Delhi. It was a disappointing end to the season for Dabang Delhi as they lost for the 16th time. Even though they were ahead for most part of the match, Puneri Paltan turned the match on its head in the last five minutes. Deepak Hooda was the man of the match for Pune and ended up with 10 raid points. Rajesh Mondal also made crucial raids for Puneri Paltan and scored seven raid points. Abolfazl was the most successful raider for Dabang Delhi as he scored eight points. Having already secured a place in the super playoffs, Puneri Paltan have 73 points from 19 matches and are third in Zone A. Dabang Delhi’s dismal season came to an end as they finished bottom of the table with 38 points from 22 matches. Puneri Paltan made a quick start to lead 3-0 after two minutes. Dabang Delhi scored two points with a tackle to open their account and trailed 2-3 after three minutes. Another tackle point in the fifth minute by Delhi made it all square at 4-4. Akshay Jadhav scored a raid point in the 10th minute as Puneri Paltan led 8-6. Dabang Delhi scored four points in the next five minutes to lead 10-8. Dabang Delhi inflicted an all out in the 16th minute to lead 13-9. Puneri Paltan were struggling to come to terms with Delhi as they trailed 10-14 at the end of the first half. It was a similar story at the start of the second half as Delhi continued to score tackle points and led 18-13 after 25 minutes. Deepak Hooda scored with a two-point raid in the 30th minute as Puneri Paltan trailed 17-21. Puneri Paltan were slowly cutting Dabang Delhi’s lead as Suresh Kumar came up with a two-point raid in the 32nd minute. Puneri Paltan inflicted an all out in the 35th minute to 27-25 and turn the tables on Dabang Delhi. Deepak Hooda came up with a super raid in the next minute as Puneri Paltan extended their lead to 31-25. Dabang Delhi scored two points in a minute to trail 27-31 after 36 minutes. In the last few tense minutes of the match, Puneri Paltan held their nerve and prevailed 34-31. With inputs from agencies