Tamil Thalaivas snapped their seven-game winless run with a resounding 46-27 victory over UP Yoddhas in a 2023-24 Pro Kabaddi League match on Wednesday.
Thalaivas raider Narender starred with 14 raid points, while left corner defender Sahil Gulia claimed five tackle points.
Tamil Thalaivas got off to a fantastic start and needed just seven minutes to inflict the first all out and soar to an 11-2 lead.
Both of their raiders, Narender and Ajinkya Pawar, were in really good touch and made the difference in the first half. Neither of UP Yoddhas’ raiders were effective and it took a couple of key raids from Vijay Malik for them to get going.
The Thaliavas ended the first half with an eight-point lead at 19-11 and were in complete control of the game.
The second half was more of the same as Narender returned to cause further trouble for the Yoddhas. The youngster produced two multi-point raids to lead his side to a second all out and further extend their lead.
He slipped past the defensive duo of Nitesh Kumar and Gurdeep to earn the Thalaivas four points and take them to a 29-15 lead in the 26th minute.
Pardeep Narwal endured a difficult outing and was sent to the bench for the seventh time in 11 raids, in the 30th minute, as the Yoddhas were reduced to three men and trailed by 15 points.
The Yoddhas, on their part, did well to hold on and a super tackle from Nitin Panwar helped their cause, but it still was not enough.
Another multi-point raid from Narender saw a third all out inflicted on the Yoddhas and that saw the Thalaivas pick up their first win in eight games. The result also marked the Yoddhas' fourth loss on the trot.
U Mumba, Haryana Steelers draw
U Mumba and Haryana Steelers, in the other match of the day, played out a highly entertaining 44-44 draw.
While Jaideep Dahiya's brilliant defending earned him eight tackle points, the real star of the game was Amirmohammad Zafardanesh, who almost single-handedly got his side a deserved tie with 14 raid points.
The Haryana Steelers kicked off at a blistering pace and had, within minutes, reduced the U Mumba numbers on the mat.
It wasn't just via raiding though, as Dahiya in defence was imperious, logging an impressive four tackle points in the first half itself – over half of the Haryana Steelers' total for the period.
They inflicted the first all out of the game in the seventh minute to take an 11-6 lead and things looked bleak for the home side.
Despite having only three players on the mat at the beginning of the second half, the Haryana Steelers, courtesy of a super tackle and some brilliant raiding, streaked into a nine-point lead within two minutes.
The see-saw nature of the encounter ensured that they wouldn't have the last say, as U Mumba slowly edged their way back. It took them nine minutes of the half, but eventually they inflicted an all out to erase that nine point deficit to draw level at 30 apiece.
The momentum swung the other way almost immediately as the Haryana Steelers defence held together and created a second all out to take a five point lead. U Mumba returned with an all out of their own to draw level at 44 apiece, with 40 seconds left.
Neither team could break the deadlock in the dying seconds as they took a point apiece.
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