Pawar hits Titans for a six

CHENNAI: Ajinkya Pawar delivered a match-winning ‘Super Raid’, which was worth as many as six points, in the penultimate minute as Tamil Thalaivas defeated Telugu Titans 39-31 in a southern Pro Kabaddi League Season 9 match in Pune on Saturday.

With about 90 seconds remaining on the clock, Thalaivas held just a slender onepoint (30-29) lead and was staring at an ‘All Out’. But, Pawar (12 points – 11 raid points and 1 tackle point) wiped out almost the entire Titans defence with a six-point raid, thanks to his presence of mind. As a result, the Tamil Nadu team inflicted an ‘All Out’ to extend the cushion to nine points. Since only a minute was left, Titans could not even take a point from the match.

Having notched up its third win in four matches under Ashan Kumar, Thalaivas is eighth on the table with 28 points from 10 games. Meanwhile, the bottom-placed Titans has just eight points from 11 matches. Besides Pawar, who turned the match on its head, standin skipper and right corner Sagar Rathee impressed for Thalaivas as he racked up eight tackle points with the help of three crucial ‘Super Tackles’.

Titans had a three-point (16-13) advantage at the half-time break, but Thalaivas, with renewed energy, came out all guns blazing in the second period. In what was a disappointing outing for the Telugu side, Siddharth Desai (14 raid points) stood out.

In the first match of the evening, Bengal Warriors returned to winning ways with a 45-40 victory over Gujarat Giants. Bengal skipper Maninder Singh led from the front with 20 raid points while Deepak Hooda was the second-best scorer with seven points (5 raid points and 2 tackle points). All-rounder Parteek Dhaiya contributed 12 points (11 raid points and 1 tackle point), but his performance eventually went in vain.

In the evening’s third and final match, Haryana Steelers and UP Yoddhas played out a thrilling 36-36 tie. Earlier in the day, Yoddhas had handed over the captain’s armband to raiding sensation Pardeep Narwal.

RESULTS: Tamil Thalaivas 39 bt Telugu Titans 31; Gujarat Giants 40 lost to Bengal Warriors 45; Haryana Steelers 36 tied with UP Yoddhas 36