Thalaivas, Giants split points with 31-31 tie

BENGALURU: New season, same old problems. Tamil Thalaivas capitulated in the final few minutes to split the points with Gujarat Giants after a 31-31 tie in the Pro Kabaddi League Season 9 thriller at the Kanteerava Indoor Stadium here on Saturday.

Thalaivas led 29-25 with about four minutes left on the clock and looked set to notch up a victory in its tournament opener, but let Giants to share the spoils. To make matters worse for the southern franchise, skipper and lead raider Pawan Sehrawat was stretchered off the mat in the 10th minute after what looked like a nasty knee injury.

One of the two Thalaivas players on court when the accident happened, Pawan twisted his knee while going for a tackle on rival captain Chandran Ranjit, who eventually inflicted an ‘All Out’ with a multi-point raid. In front of a familiar crowd – he turned out for Bengaluru Bulls in five seasons – Pawan put in only two raids before going off injured.

In the absence of Pawan, youngster Narender (10 points) rose to the occasion and enjoyed a dream debut after being handed a start by head coach J Udaya Kumar. Having secured five touch points and as many bonus points, Narender completed a ‘Super 10’.

“In the tense moments, we did not execute our plans. We will avoid making the same mistakes in the coming matches. I think that Pawan will be back in a few days,” Udaya Kumar said in the post-match press conference.

All-rounder Himanshu, who replaced Pawan, was the last man standing for Thalaivas with just 27 seconds left and the scorecard reading 31 all. He ate up the clock with a legal raid and avoided a clean sweep, which would have resulted in a Thalaivas defeat.

Earlier, Giants, for which Rakesh (13 raid points) earned a ‘Super 10’, held a slender two-point advantage (18-16) at the half-way mark. But, Thalaivas erased the deficit at the start of the second half with an ‘All Out’ and moved into the lead.

In the first match of the night, Patna Pirates and Puneri Paltan, two teams that were without its marquee foreign signings, played out a thrilling 34-34 tie. In the third and final match on Saturday, Haryana Steelers registered a 41-33 victory over Bengal Warriors.

RESULTS: Patna Pirates 34 tied with Puneri Paltan 34; Gujarat Giants 31 tied with Tamil Thalaivas 31; Bengal Warriors 33 lost to Haryana Steelers 41