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Tamil Thalaivas made light work of UP Yoddha in match 33 of the Pro Kabaddi League (PKL) as they ran out winners by 39-33 to maintain their four-match unbeaten run. The contest was a one-sided affair as the Thalaivas dominated from the start. The five points see them close the gap on league leaders Bengaluru Bulls who are sitting at the top with 23 points.
Dominating first half by Thalaivas
After two ties in three encounters, the Thalaivas came up with spring in their steps. They dominated the early proceedings thanks to the exploits of the raiding duo of Manjeet and K. Prapanjan. Both were instrumental in grabbing hold of two all-outs in the first half. They were well supported in the defense by Mohit and Sagar, with the latter registering five points in the match. At the end of the first half, the Thalaivas were leading and were in the ascendency, leading 21-10.
Too little, too late for Yoddha’s
The Yoddha’s sitting ninth in the table before the match did manage to revive their luck with two all-outs of their own in the second half. The momentum however didn’t last long, as their progress was halted by the Thalaivas. Surender Gill, hero for the Yoddha’s in the match, didn’t get any support from his fellow players. Gill ended with the most points in the match with a tally of 14.
Off day for Pardeep Narwal
With more than 1200 points to his name in the history of PKL much was expected of Pardeep Narwal, but the star raider failed to impress with just six points in the match. More importantly, he managed to pick up only three points until the final minutes of the match.
Manjeet and captain Surjeet Singh though had other ideas, as they both ended with seven and three points respectively. The dynamic duo made sure the Thalaivas maintained their lead till the end to grab hold of the five points. Bhavani Rajput also ended with four points in the match as the final score read 39-33 in favor of the Thalaivas.
Changes in points table
The win sees Tamil Thalaivas climb fifth in the table; it was Tamil Thalaivas’s second win of the PKL season. In six matches so far they have gathered 19 points with three ties and one loss. While opponents UP Yoddha have now lost three matches in six games and sit eighth in the table. They remain on 14 points and will try to bounce back from the loss in their next encounter. Tamil Thalaivas are next in action on Thursday (January 6) against Patna Pirates while UP Yoddha will take on Dabang Delhi on Saturday (January 8).
