The Telugu Titans managed to get their third consecutive win of the season after overcoming a nail-biting contest against the Tamil Thalaivas with a scoreline of 35-34 in the Southern Derby of the Pro Kabaddi League (PKL) 2024. Led by Pawan Sehrawat’s 12 points and contributions from Ashish Narwal and Vijay Malik, they got over the line despite Sachin Tanwar scoring a mammoth 17 points for the Tamil Thalaivas.
Pawan Sehrawat's 12 points dampen Sachin Tanwar's 17 as Telugu Titans beat Tamil Thalaivas
It was a watchful start from both sides as Ashish Narwal and Narender Kandola exchanged early blows to get the ball rolling. That was until the most expensive player in PKL history and the most expensive player in the auction this year took centre stage. After a tight start, it was the hi-flying Pawan Sehrawat who sprang into action to inflict an ALL OUT on the Tamil Thalaivas, giving the Telugu Titans a four-point lead.
Sachin Tanwar didn’t waste much time to make his presence felt either, managing a Super Raid to close the gap for the Tamil Thalaivas to two points after the first quarter of the game. However, it was the duo of Pawan Sehrawat and Ashish Narwal that kept the Telugu Titans in the lead, as the two combined for 10 touch points in the first half, with the score at 20-17 after the first 20 minutes.
Slowly but steadily, the Tamil Thalaivas managed to claw their way back into the contest in the second half. Sachin Tanwar reached a significant milestone of 1000 raid points and followed it up by completing his Super 10 in the game, giving his side a brief lead. Despite the Tamil Thalaivas building on that momentum and inflicting an ALL OUT, Ashish Narwal made sure that the two teams stay neck and neck at 25 points each.
After a quiet period in the second half, the heavyweight battle between two star raiders continued. The hi-flying Pawan Sehrawat showed his class once more, scoring a Super Raid to complete his Super 10 and put the Telugu Titans back on top by 3 points. That was before Sachin Tanwar got a two-point raid of his own, keeping his side in the hunt a high octane contest.
There was no stopping the most expensive player in the PKL this year as he completed 17 raid points that put the pressure back on the Telugu Titans. With the game coming down to the wire and only one point separating the two sides, it was Ankit who executed a superb tackle on Sachin Tanwar to seal the deal for the Telugu Titans.
Ajit’s impressive show power U Mumba to win over Patna Pirates
Ajit Chavan was at his best for the U Mumba as he led his team to a 42-40 victory over the Patna Pirates in another PKL clash. Ajit finished the game with an impressive 19 points in 18 raids, negating the 15 points from his counterpart Devank Dalal for the Patna Pirates
Despite the final result, it was the young raiding duo of Devank Dalal and Ayan Lohchab that gave the Patna Pirates the perfect start. U Mumba were not to be left behind for too long, however, as two consecutive Super Tackles proved crucial for the Sunil Kumar-led side, allowing them to get both Devank and Ayan off the mat.
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The first ALL OUT of the game was registered to the name of the Patna Pirates, courtesy of a two-point raid by Ayan. It was a bold move that gave the Shubham Shinde-led side the lead, but Ajit Chavan was equally adept in one of his raids, which ended in a Super Raid and also reduced the deficit.
The youngster was not done, however, and another Super Raid completed his Super 10 and also got the Patna Pirates ALL OUT for the first time in the game. With 11 points in just seven raids, Ajit went on to give his team the lead at the end of the first half, with the score reading 24-21.
Having taken the lead early, U Mumba worked hard to maintain it. It seemed like Ajit kept winning points whenever he went to raid, ensuring that the Patna Pirates were unable to take the lead despite scoring points regularly.
A see-saw of a match from the get-go, this time it was Devank who reached his Super 10 with a Super Raid for the Patna Pirates. It was a gutsy move from young raider who made the most of the Do-Or-Die raid, which shifted the lead back to his team.
As the match neared its end, the Patna Pirates thought that they could hold on to their extremely slender lead but Ajit and U Mumba had other plans. He succeeded in multiple raids and levelled the score, taking the Patna Pirates to their last player on the mat. In the end, U Mumba took a two-point lead after Amirmohammad Zafardanesh ensured that the Patna Pirates were ALL OUT, sealing a well-earned victory.
