Thalaivas registers second win of Pro Kabaddi season

With the win, the PO Surjeet Singh-led Thalaivas extended its unbeaten streak in the competition to 4 matches. Following the result, the Tamil Nadu team (2 wins, 3 ties and 1 loss) jumped to fifth on the table with 19 points from 6 fixtures while a struggling UP (1 win, 2 ties and 3 losses) sits eighth with 14 points off 6 games.

Manjeet (7 points – 6 raid points and 1 tackle point), substitute Ajinkya Pawar (6 raid points) and right corner defender Sagar Rathee (5 tackle points) were the chief contributors for Thalaivas. On a night when Pardeep Narwal (6 raid points) failed to make an impact, Surender Gill stepped up with 14 points (13 raid points and 1 tackle point) but his single-handed effort wasn’t enough to take Yoddha home.

However, Pardeep made his way into the history books, becoming the first player to rack up 1,200 raid points in Pro Kabaddi. Thalaivas got off the blocks well, inflicting the first ‘All Out’ of the match in the 11th minute. The southern team dominated the proceedings as it held a massive 11-point advantage (21-10) at the half-time break.

Each of the three raiders in the ‘Starting 7’ – Manjeet, K Prapanjan and Bhavani Rajput – picked up four points in the first half, which turned out to be crucial. UP, which began the final half with just two men on the mat, looked a different unit at the start of the second period. The Yoddha defenders produced back-to-back ‘Super Tackles’ while Surender came up with a multi-point raid to reduce the arrears to six points.

UP continued the good work, bagging its first ‘All Out’ in the 27th minute, to cut down the deficit to just two points. But, Thalaivas kept its calm and rose once again. The Tamil Nadu side earned points at regular intervals to inflict its second ‘All Out’ in the 36th minute.

When Thalaivas completed the clean sweep, the scorecard read 34-26 in its favour. Yoddha tried to make a late surge, but couldn’t turn the tide around at the end. In the first match on Tuesday, Haryana Steelers and U Mumba played out an enthralling 24-24 tie.

RESULT: Tamil Thalaivas 39 bt UP Yoddha 33