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A record ninth tie in the Pro Kabaddi League (PKL) season 8 saw Patna Pirates (PP) and Tamil Thalaivas (TT) continue their recent unbeaten run as they shared the spoils with final scoreline reading 30-30. The tie meant that three-time champions Pirates go second in the standings, only behind Dabang Delhi. Manu Goyat and Ajinkya Pawar were the heroes for their respective sides as they ended with a personal tally of nine and 10 points respectively.
Pirates dominate the half after a slow start
Pirates started on the front foot thanks to Goyat's all-around performance. He had seven raid points along with a defensive point to put his team in the ascendancy. It was in the 14th minute when Pirates established a four-point lead as they started to dominate the game. The scoreboard at that point read 13-8 in favour of the Pirates. During the period of 10-15 minutes, they secured six points to establish their supremacy.
Thalaivas on the other hand panicked and brought star raider Ajinkya Pawar on the mat, who usually is brought in the second half. Pirates' supremacy was underlined in the final minute when they recorded the first all-out of the night, as they went into halftime with the score of 18-12. Pirates' only concern was the from of raider Sachin, as he picked no points in his six raids.
Ajinkya turns the game on its head
Ajinkya was firing on all cylinders as he inspired a comeback for his team. With his second 'Super 10' of the campaign, he inspired a superb comeback as Thalaivas secured an all-out on the 28th minute mark. In the first ten minutes of the second half, Thalaivas registered 13 points while opponents Pirates picked up only five as the score quickly turned from 11-18 to 25-23 in favour of the Thalaivas.
Both teams go defensive in the final 10 minutes
The final 10 minutes though was a seesaw battle, as the teams were hardly separated. Prashant Kumar's seven points and Athul MS's five points led to a superb showing for their respective teams, as a result, the scoreboard floated at 25-25, 28-28 and 30-30 until the final minute, as both the teams settled for a tie, picking three points each.
The tie was the first of the season for Pirates while it was a league-high fourth tie of the PKL season 8 for the Thalaivas. In six matches so far, Pirates have 24 points and as they missed the opportunity to go top, while Thalaivas climbed to 22 points from seven matches. Pirates will now face off against Gujarat Giants on Saturday (January 8) while fourth place U Mumba wait for Thalaivas on the same night.
