(MOREPIC1) FACE2NEWS/PUNE
Tamil Thalaivas pulled off a thrilling 35-34 victory over Puneri Paltan to continue their march up the table in the vivo Pro Kabaddi League Season 9 at the Shree Shivchhatrapati Sports Complex, Balewadi, here on Sunday.. In the process they also broke the Paltan's five-match unbeaten streak and extended their own. Paltan's Aslam Inamdar (15 points) and the Thalaivas' Narender (13 points) were the pick of the raiders for the day.
An incredible first half saw the two teams play at a relentless pace, almost every other raid resulting in a point. Pune's Aslam Inamdar and the Thalaivas' Narender traded blows almost constantly, exacting a point for point. While the partisan crowd screamed for their legendary captain Fazel Atrachali to get to the hallowed 400 tackle points mark, in reality, the Iranian was cautious. The Thalaivas went into the break leading by 16-15.
The Thalaivas stormed out of the blocks in the second half, inflicting the first all out of the game. Narender's super raid caught out Atrachali, Abinesh Nadarajan, Sombir and Pankaj Mohite to extend their lead to 24-16.
From thereon, the game turned into a tactical battle, Paltan getting the touch points to chip away at that lead, but the Thalaivas doing everything to ensure they didn't lose it entirely. At crucial moments, with three men on the mat, a pair of super tackles, the first by Himanshu on Inamdar and a second by Sagar on Mohit Goyat salvaged a certain all out.
With five minutes on the clock, Paltan rallied to inflict their first all out of the game and closed the lead to four at 30-34. A close game became tense and unpredictable, with both teams wary of making even the most marginal of mistakes to forsake the lead. In the end, on the last raid of the evening, an erroneous calculation by the Paltan bench meant the Thalaivas leading by one point, snuck the points home, silencing the crowd and keeping their streak alive.
Award Winners
Match 1: Bengaluru Bulls vs Gujarat Giants
vivo Perfect Player of the Match – Parteek Dhaiya (Gujarat Giants)
Dream 11 Gamechanger of the Match – Parteek Dhaiya (Gujarat Giants)
Moment of the Match – Parteek Dhaiya (Gujarat Giants)
Match 2: Puneri Paltan vs Tamil Thalaivas
vivo Perfect Player of the Match – Narender (Tamil Thalaivas)
Dream 11 Gamechanger of the Match – Aslam Inamdar (Puneri Paltan)
Moment of the Match – Sagar (Tamil Thalaivas).
