PKL 9: U Mumba edge past Telugu Titans, Bengal Warriors and Tamil Thalaivas share spoils

Maninder Singh was the best performer of the day as he collected 19 points from his 18 raid attempts.

Ashish put up an excellent performance as the U Mumba side picked up another victory in the vivo Pro Kabaddi League Season 9 after defeating Telugu Titans 40-37 at the Shree Shivchhatrapati Sports Complex, Balewadi, Pune on Wednesday. Raider Ashish scored a total of 12 points in the game. In the second game of the day in PKL 9, Bengal Warriors had to share the spoils with Tamil Thalaivas.

Ashish chipped in with a couple of raids as U Mumba put their noses in front at 5-2 in the 6th minute. However, Parvesh Bhainswal tackled Heidarali Ekrami soon after and kept the Titans in the game. The Telugu defense continued to step up for the team as they levelled the scores at 6-6. Thereafter, both sides kept trading points until U Mumba tackled Vijay Kumar to inflict an ALL OUT and take a massive lead at 15-11. Moments later, U Mumba's Mohit tackled Adarsh T as the Mumbai side ended the first half leading at 18-14.

Ashish continued to showcase top form in the second half as well as U Mumba extended their lead further at 24-18 in the 25th minute. The Mumbai side attained a strong hold of the match at 30-23 after inflicting another ALL OUT in the 29th minute. Raider Pranay Rane also joined the party as U Mumba continued to dominate the match at 33-27 in the 35th minute. However, the Titans didn't give up and reduced the gap by inflicting an ALL OUT in the 37th minute. But, U Mumba held their nerve in the last few minutes and closed out a hard-earned victory.

PKL 9 Day 23 Match 2: Bengal Warriors 41-41 Tamil Thalaivas

Bengal Warriors and Tamil Thalaivas played an enthralling 41-41 tie in the vivo Pro Kabaddi League PKL Season 9 at the Shree Shivchhatrapati Sports Complex, Balewadi, Pune on Wednesday. An inspired Maninder Singh performance saw him get 19 points for the Warriors and he was backed up by a brilliant 11 points from captain Deepak Niwas Hooda. Meanwhile, Narender starred for the Thalaivas with 15 points.

A slow burn contest sparked to life when Ajinkya Pawar, on a DO OR DIE raid caught the Warriors' Balaji D and Vaibhav Garje to help the Thalaivas edge ahead. While Maninder kept the Warriors in the hunt, constantly poaching bonus points, the Thalaivas raiders were more prolific on the mat. They got the first ALL OUT with a SUPER RAID, Narender catching out Balaji D, Vaibhav Garje and Shrikant Jadhav to give them a 21-9 lead. 

It didn't take them too long to get a second ALL OUT, this one created by an inept Warriors defence — who failed to get a single successful tackle in the first half. Going into halftime, the Thalaivas led 26-14.

The Warriors came out a different unit in the second half. Maninder and Deepak Niwas Hooda rallied their side to initiate their own ALL OUT to reduce the margin of the lead. While the Thalaivas defence faltered, the Warriors kept chipping away, their raiders suddenly the ones in the ascendancy.

With three minutes to go, the two teams were locked level, with no room for error at all. The teams traded the lead multiple times, trading raid for raid and tackle for tackle. Maninder got the Warriors a one-point lead on the second last raid, however, Pawar helped the Thalaivas tie the match in the end.

PKL 9 Award Winners of the Night:

Match 1: U Mumba vs Telugu Titans

vivo Perfect Player of the Match - Ashish (U Mumba)

Dream 11 Gamechanger of the Match - Siddharth Desai (Telugu Titans)

Moment of the Match - Heidarali Ekrami (U Mumba)

Match 2: Bengal Warriors vs Tamil Thalaivas

vivo Perfect Player of the Match - Maninder Singh (Bengal Warriors)

Dream 11 Gamechanger of the Match - Narender (Tamil Thalaivas)

Moment of the Match - Ajinkya Pawar (Tamil Thalaivas)

Tune In details (04/11/2022) - PKL 9

7:30 PM: Patna Pirates vs U Mumba 

8:30 PM: Dabang Delhi K.C. vs Jaipur Pink Panthers9:30 PM: U.P. Yoddhas vs Puneri Paltan

Venue: Shree Shivchhatrapati Sports Complex, Balewadi, Pune