PKL 10: Narender, Ajinkya's Super 10s, Sagar's High 5 steer Tamil Thalaivas to victory

HYDERABAD: Tamil Thalaivas banked on some incredible raiding and resolute defending to clinch a 45-28 victory against Bengaluru Bulls in Season 10 of the Pro Kabaddi League match at the Gachibowli Indoor Stadium here on Sunday.

Narender and Ajinkya Pawar, with 14 and 11 points respectively, were excellent for Tamil Thalaivas as was their captain Sagar with five tackle points. Bengaluru Bulls’ Akshit also had a superb game as he finished with 12 raid points.

It was a contest between two evenly matched sides with very little margin for error. Akshit’s fine show in the previous game earned him a spot in the starting 7 and he did not disappoint -– he picked up 7 points in the first 10 minutes -– which were, incidentally, the only points Bengaluru Bulls had at 7-10. The raiders dominated the opening phase as Narender and Ajinkya Pawar kept the scorecard ticking for the Tamil Nadu team.

The Bengaluru Bulls defence had no tackle points to account for in the opening 15 minutes, by which time the Tamil Thalaivas had inflicted the first All-Out. It was the two raiders who got the job done as Narender and Ajinkya led their team to an 18-9 lead.

That served as a wakeup call for the Bengaluru Bulls as they turned it up a notch, the highlight being a superb three-point raid from Sushil. They even had a chance to bag an All-Out, but Ajinkya rescued Tamil Thalaivas and led them to a healthy 25-14 lead at half-time.

Akshit continued to excel for the Bengaluru Bulls as he got the better of Himanshu to bring up his first Super 10 of the season, which was soon followed by an All-Out for his side. With 11 minutes to go, the scoreline read 31-23 in Tamil Thalaivas’ favour.

It was then Narender’s turn to shine in the limelight as he produced 2 fantastic multi-point raids to swiftly earn an All-Out for his side. Along the way, he completed a Super 10 and his team led by 14 points with less than 5 minutes to go.

With about three minutes left, Tamil Thalaivas captain Sagar launched into a huge tackle on Sushil to bag a High 5 and become the first defender to reach 50 tackle points this season. There was more reason to celebrate for Tamil Thalaivas as Sahil Gulia also crossed the 50 tackle points mark and the team closed out a comprehensive 17-point win.