Bengaluru Bulls fought back from a deficit to hold Gujarat Giants to a 34-34 draw in an absolute thriller to kick off the Pune leg of Season 11 of the Pro Kabaddi League (PKL) at the Balewadi Sports Complex’s Badminton Hall here on Tuesday.

Match 89, which started the third leg of action this season as the league moved from Hyderabad and Noida, lived up to expectations as both teams finished with 34 points each. For the Bengaluru Bulls, Nitin Rawal bagged seven points while Pardeep Narwal and Sushil scored six each. However, the Gujarat Giants, who led for most parts of the game, had Rakesh registering seven points and Neeraj getting a High-5 as well.

The Gujarat Giants got off to a quick start, with the defensive unit led by Rohit thwarting the Bengaluru Bulls’ early advances. However, the Bengaluru Bulls’ defenders too stepped up to the mat with vigour, ensuring that the Gujarat Giants would not be able to run away with an early lead. After the first five minutes, the Gujarat Giants were leading the battle of the defences by two points. Soon after, the Gujarat Giants’ Parteek Dahiya started to land a few quick raids, which gave them momentum. The Bengaluru Bulls though weren’t backing off with Nitin Rawal, Jai Bhagwan and Parteek looking effective in their respective roles.

Pardeep Narwal scored his first points after 12 minutes, and a little later, the Bengaluru Bulls were on level terms with the Gujarat Giants. Narwal notched up a few more valuable raids in the final minutes of the first half, to give the Bengaluru Bulls the lead at the break. At half-time, the Bengaluru Bulls led 15-13.

Rakesh’s raids helped the Gujarat Giants begin the second half strongly, after which the Neeraj forced an All Out on the Bengaluru Bulls. The Gujarat Giants were back in the lead and were looking to grab the bull by its horns. But as the half wore on, the Bengaluru Bulls kept chipping away at the lead. Jai Bhagwan and Sushil combined to reduce a five-point gap to two. Rakesh was making a big impact on the contest with a flurry of important raids, which helped the Gujarat Giants keep their noses out in front.

With less than a quarter of the game to go, the Gujarat Giants held onto their lead, but the Bengaluru Bulls were doing their best to mount a comeback. Nitin Rawal was soldiering on in defence while Sushil and Jai Bhagwan were battling it out in attack, along with Pardeep Narwal for the Bengaluru Bulls.

As the final five minutes began, the Gujarat Giants led by five points. In the final minutes, Neeraj and Nitin Rawal registered their High-5s for their respective teams. But there was more drama in store, as the teams went into the final thirty seconds with the scores tied. And it remained that way at the final whistle.