The Maharashtra derby between U Mumba and Puneri Paltan lived up to its billing as they played out a thrilling 32-32 tie in the Pro Kabaddi League here on Tuesday.
Guman Singh was the star on the night for U Mumba with 15 raid points, while Mohammadreza Shadloui Chiyaneh notched 6 tackle points in the match.
Aslam Inamdar grabbed two raid points as the Paltan led 4-2 in the third minute, while Sanket Sawant also joined the party with tackles against Heidarali Ekrami and Guman, helping the Pune side prolong the lead.
Nevertheless, Ekrami caught out Gaurav Khatri and kept U Mumba in the contest at 5-7.
The Paltan and U Mumba exchanged a couple of tackle points as the former led 10-7 in the 13th minute. But Bittu tackled Mohit Goyat to keep his team going at 9-10.
Moments later, Guman delivered a 'Super Raid', helping U Mumba impose an 'All-Out' to take an upright lead at 15-11. Thereafter, Guman generated two raids as the Mumbai side maintained the lead at 19-17 at the end of the opening half.
Goyat effected a marvellous raid in the initial minutes of the second half but U Mumba still held the lead at 21-19. Goyat showcased his brilliance as the Paltan reduced U Mumba to just two members.
The Pune side imposed an 'All-Out' soon after and edged ahead at 25-23 in the 27th minute. Then, Guman shone as U Mumba drew level at 26-26.
Thereafter, both sides engaged in an intense battle and were locked at 30-30 in the 37th minute. While U Mumba tackled Aslam Inamdar, Ekrami caught out Shadloui to draw level again.
Goyat induced a raid and put the Paltan ahead at 32-31 with just 50 seconds left. Nonetheless, Rane collected a bonus point to lock the scores at 32-32, while Aslam Inamdar ran down the clock to settle for a compelling tie.
The result kept Paltan and U Mumbai in the second and sixth place on the points table.
