Tamil Thalaivas extends unbeaten streak to five matches

CHENNAI: Tamil Thalaivas extended its unbeaten streak to five matches under head coach Ashan Kumar as the southern team edged out Puneri Paltan 35-34 in a Pro Kabaddi League Season 9 thriller in Pune on Sunday.

Paltan made a tactical blunder in the final minute as Thalaivas walked away with five points. Puneri, with 38 points from 11 matches, remains on top of the table despite the defeat while the Tamil Nadu team is third with 33 point from 11 games.

For Thalaivas, Narender returned to form, picking up a match-winning tally of 13 raid points, while Ajinkya Pawar contributed six points (4 raid points and 2 tackle points). Stand-in skipper and right corner Sagar Rathee secured five tackle points to continue his good run.

For Paltan, the returning Aslam Inamdar (15 points – 13 raid points and 2 tackle points) and Mohit Goyat (7 points – 5 raid points and 2 tackle points) in front of a raucous crowd at the Shree Shiv Chhatrapati Sports Complex, but their efforts were not enough.

Thalaivas, which led by a solitary point (16-15) at half-time, came out of the blocks quickly at the start of the second period to inflict the first ‘All Out’. Earlier in the day, Parteek Dhaiya (16 points – 15 raid points and 1 tackle point) and Rakesh (10 raid points) earned ‘Super 10s’ for Gujarat Giants, which pipped Bengaluru Bulls 46-44.

RESULTS: Puneri Paltan 34 lost to Tamil Thalaivas 35; Bengaluru Bulls 44 lost to Gujarat Giants 46