Thalaivas makes it back-to-back victories

PUNE: Those doubting Thomases who dismissed off Tamil Thalaivas’ win over Jaipur Pink Panthers on Friday as flash in the pan were made to swallow their words since the team from Tamil Nadu hardly put a foot wrong in a dominant 49-39 win over defending champion Dabang Delhi in the Pro Kabaddi League Season 9 here on Sunday.

This is Thalaivas’ second win on the trot and it moves up to ninth in the table with 20 points from eight matches. For Delhi (28 points from 9 matches), it seems Pune is not turning out to be a happy hunting ground as it suffered its second defeat in as many days in what was clearly a weekend to forget.

To make matters worse for the Delhi side, its captain Naveen Kumar sustained an injury early in the second half and was grimacing in pain as he hobbled off the mat. The extent of his injury is still unknown and his absence at such a critical juncture of the tournament does not bode well for his team.

Thalaivas, meanwhile, is going from strength to strength with different players putting their hands up at crucial moments. The defence comprising Abishek, Mohit and Sagar deserves a special word of appreciation as they were instrumental in effecting three ‘All Outs’ inside the first half alone. At half-time, the score read 32-11 in Thalaivas’ favour.

In the raiding department, rookie Narender (24 points – 23 raid points and 1 tackle point) was once again impressive, menacing the Delhi defence with his ingenuity and agility. He received good support from Ajinkya Pawar (6 raid points) and the duo had a field day with Delhi struggling to rein them in.

The capital outfit looked to claw its way back through Ashu Malik (14 raid points) by reducing the deficit to 30-43. But with less than five minutes remaining and with Naveen consigned to the role of a spectator, DD was left with a mountain to climb. Thalaivas will next take on Bengal Warriors on November 2 and it will be high on confidence following these two spirited wins over higher-ranked opponents.

In the evening’s first match, Bengaluru Bulls staved off a spirited challenge from Pink Panthers to record a 37-31 victory. Birthday boy Bharat (10 raid points) was yet again in his element helping his team consolidate its position at the top with its sixth win in nine matches. Jaipur remained third in the table with 27 points from nine matches.

RESULTS: Jaipur Pink Panthers 31 lost to Bengaluru Bulls 37; Tamil Thalaivas 49 bt Dabang Delhi 39

Bengaluru Bulls staved off a spirited challenge from Jaipur Pink Panthers to record a 37-31 victory