New Delhi, Oct 30: Puneri Paltan produced a spectacular comeback to defeat Telugu Titans 50–45 and seal their berth in the Pro Kabaddi League (PKL) Season 12 final at the Thyagaraj Indoor Stadium on Wednesday. The defending champions will now face Dabang Delhi K.C. in the summit clash on Friday their third final appearance in four years.
The high-voltage semifinal was dominated by the raiders, with Aditya Shinde (21 points) and Pankaj Mohite (10 points) leading Puneri’s resurgence. Despite Bharat Hooda’s 22 point and Vijay Malik’s 10-point efforts, the Titans fell short in the closing stages.
The Titans started strong, inflicting an early All Out to take a commanding 10–1 lead, thanks to Bharat Hooda’s powerful Super Raid and tight defending from Ankit and Chetan Sahu. However, Puneri Paltan gradually clawed back into the contest with Pankaj Mohite’s successive raids and a solid tackle by Mohd Amaan, reducing the gap to 13–7 after ten minutes.
Aslam Inamdar and Aditya Shinde kept the scoreboard ticking for the Paltan, who secured their first All Out to bring the deficit down to four. The first half ended 24–20 in favour of Telugu Titans, with Bharat completing his Super 10 early and Puneri’s raiders combining effectively to stay within striking distance.
The momentum shifted dramatically in the second half as Puneri Paltan executed a second All Out, courtesy of a decisive tackle by Gaurav Khatri. Aditya and Pankaj soon completed their Super 10s, leveling the scores at 33–33. With both teams trading blows through Do-or-Die raids, the intensity peaked in the final quarter.
Captain Aslam Inamdar stepped up in crunch time, engineering a third All Out to give Puneri their first lead of the night. Then came the turning point Aditya Shinde’s electrifying four-point Super Raid that swung the game decisively in Paltan’s favour.
With another All Out in the dying minutes, Puneri Paltan sealed a nine point turnaround, registering a 50–45 victory and marching into the PKL 12 final in style.