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The Tamil Thalaivas put in spirited performance but the Patna Pirates’ raiders Devank and Ayan propelled the three-time champions to an important win in their Pro Kabaddi League (PKL) 2024 match at the Badminton Hall, in the Balewadi Sports Complex in Pune. The Patna Pirates won 42-38 with Devank getting 12 points, and Ayan adding 13 to the cause. Shubham Shinde also registered a High 5. For the Tamil Thalaivas, who are on the verge of being knocked out of the playoffs race, Moein Shafaghi scored 11 points and Sachin bagged 8.
Devank, Ayan star again as Patna Pirates edge Tamil Thalaivas
Devank started things off for the Patna Pirates, and along with Ayan, helped their team race into a 3-point lead within the first few minutes. The Patna Pirates were dominating the early exchanges, and the Tamil Thalaivas were under pressure. Ayan and Devank were doing the heavy lifting for the Patna Pirates, but a combined defensive effort helped reduce the deficit.
Devank was scoring raids in a hurry, and midway through the first half, the Patna Pirates inflicted an ALL OUT which extended the lead to 7-points. Moein Shafaghi and the defensive unit though were looking mount a comeback. Sachin was chipping in with a few crucial raids as well. At the half-time break, the Patna Pirates led 20-15.
Early in the second half, Nitesh Kumar’s quick raid accounted for Ayan and the Tamil Thalaivas were threatening to turn the game on its head. But Deepak’s three-point raid kept the Patna Pirates in the box seat. That brought Devank back on the mat and he landed a three-point raid as well, in the process completed his 14th Super 10, and gave his side a 10-point lead.
Sachin though had picked up the baton from his defence, and was leading the fightback for the Tamil Thalaivas. At the half-hour mark, with the deficit at 4 points, the Tamil Thalaivas were in the ascendency and had successfully kept the Patna Pirates’ star raiders Devank and Ayan at bay.
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For a bit it was left to Ayan to counter attack for the Patna Pirates, and in the process, he too completed his Super 10. The Tamil Thalaivas landed an ALL OUT moments later, with Amir Hossein and Sahil Gulia holding fort in the defence. Moein Shafaghi too registered his Super 10, but the Patna Pirates continued to hold the lead. With just over 4 minutes in the game, it was a 5-point lead. Eventually, the Patna Pirates held on and walked off with the win.
Puneri Paltan return to winning ways with enormous 38-point rout of Bengaluru Bulls to stay alive in playoff race
Match 110 of PKL 11 bore witness to a mauling by the Puneri Paltan as they beat the Bengaluru Bulls 56-18 -- a difference of 38 points and the fourth-biggest win by points margin in the history of the PKL. Ending a losing streak of three matches, the home side – playing at the Badminton Hall in the Balewadi Sports Complex on Friday night’s second game – were led ably by the eight points from raiders Akash Shinde and Mohit Goyat. In defence, Gaurav Khatri and Aman completed much deserved High 5s for their team.
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What seemed like a see-saw clash in the opening exchanges suddenly turned in favour of the Puneri Paltan, who needed just eight minutes to inflict the first ALL OUT of the match on the Bengaluru Bulls. This gave the defending champions a strong platform to completely take the match away from their opponents.
Akash Shinde was the main aggressor for the Puneri Paltan, as the Bengaluru Bulls had no answers to his raiding acumen. The defensive unit of the Puneri Paltan were equally impressive, with Mohit Goyat putting in an ankle hold to trap Jatin after Gaurav Khatri and Pankaj Mohite combined to tackle Pardeep Narwal.
With Nitin Rawal relegated to the bench, the Bengaluru Bulls' defence looked toothless. Pankaj Mohite got an easy touch on Parteek, leaving just Lucky Kumar on the mat. He was dashed out by Mohit Goyat in the very next move, leading to another ALL OUT against the Bengaluru Bulls. A rout was imminent as the score read 26-7 at the end of the first half.
The Bengaluru Bulls – struggling on all fronts – were inflicted with a third ALL OUT after Gaurav Khatri tackled the Dubki King. Khatri then completed his high five with a successful tackle on Pankaj, as the Puneri Paltan continued their rampage on the PKL 6 champions.
After 25 minutes, the Bengaluru Bulls succeeded in winning a super tackle after Mohit Goyat was tackled by Nitin Rawal. But they were still 25 points behind the defending champions, who did not look like stopping their scoring spree in the clash.
The fourth ALL OUT was inflicted on the Bengaluru Bulls as the Puneri Paltan continued to run away with the victory. Aman joined Gaurav Khatri in the high five list for the Puneri Paltan, with the Bengaluru Bulls not finding any answers to tackle the aggression of the defending champions.
As the match came to a close, substitute Aryavardhan Navale scored a massive Super Raid of five points as he took the score difference to 38 points to ensure that the home team bounced back after three losses to remain in the race for the playoffs.
