Key Takeaways
- Puneri Paltan dominated the match with a scoreline of 49-30.
- Akash Shinde scored 11 points for Puneri Paltan, while Abinesh Nadarajan and Gaurav Khatri also had impressive performances.
- Guman Singh was the top scorer for Gujarat Giants with 12 points, but it was not enough to overcome the strong Puneri Paltan team.
Hyderabad: Puneri Paltan extended their unbeaten run to four games when they stormed past the listless Gujarat Giants in grand style at the GMCB Indoor Stadium in Gachibowli, here.
Puneri Paltan won the game by a scoreline of 49-30 on Monday night with Akash Shinde scoring 11 points and defenders Abinesh Nadarajan, Gaurav Khatri and Aman all scoring a Hi-5 each.
Meanwhile, for Gujarat Giants, it was Guman Singh who stood out with 12 points.
Defending champions Puneri Paltan were out of the blocks at rapid pace and picked up an early lead against Gujarat Giants, who found it tough to get going in the initial minutes.
Puneri Paltan started strong, landing an All-Out via Abinesh Nadarajan within the first five minutes, giving them a clear advantage.
Midway through the first half, Puneri Paltan led Gujarat Giants by 9 points with Akash Shinde and Abinesh Nadarajan leading the way for their side.
Gujarat Giants had Guman Singh fighting a lone battle at this point and what put them under more pressure was a second All-Out. The first half ended with Puneri Paltan leading 30-9, a significant gap between the two teams.
The second half started off with an All-Out going, again, in the favour of Puneri Paltan, who were well and truly in control of the contest.
The early exchanges saw Puneri Paltan continue to pick up points at will, while Gujarat Giants had Guman Singh and Rakesh fighting on.
Meanwhile, Puneri Paltan’s Pankaj Mohite, Akash Shinde, Mohit Goyat, Abinesh Nadarajan and Gaurav Khatri were causing their opponents all sorts of problems. At the half-hour mark, Puneri Paltan led by 25 points.
In the final phase of the contest, Gujarat Giants had a few positive moments, both in defence and in attack, including being able to land an All-Out on Puneri Paltan. But it was never going to be enough as Puneri Paltan romped over the line to a comprehensive and comfortable win to kick-start their week.
