PKL 9: Puneri Paltan, Tamil Thalaivas, Jaipur Pink Panthers picked up much needed win

Puneri Paltan vs Dabang Delhi

The Puneri Paltan held a comfortable lead going into the last 10 minutes of the match, but Captain Naveen Kumar put up an inspiring performance to lead the fightback for Dabang Delhi K.C in match 115 of Pro Kabaddi League (PKL) 9. However, the Pune side held their nerve in the dying minutes of the game and eventually walked off with a 47-44 victory at the Gachibowli Indoor Stadium in Hyderabad on Saturday. With the win, the Puneri Paltan moved to the top of the table.

Ashu Malik picked up a couple of touch points as the Dabang Delhi K.C. took the lead at 6-4 in the 5th minute. Naveen Kumar also stepped up his game and reduced the Puneri Paltan to just two members on the mat. Moments later, Ravi Kumar tackled Akash Shinde as the Delhi team inflicted an ALL OUT in the 9th minute to take a huge lead at 13-7.

However, Pankaj Mohite and Akash Shinde effected raids and kept the Puneri Paltan in the game at 12-16. Thereafter, Abinesh Nadarajan tackled Naveen Kumar on a Do or Die raid as the Pune side continued to chip away at the lead. Mohammad Nabibakhsh had a great chance to inflict an all out, but Vijay Malik pulled off a brilliant SUPER TACKLE to keep Delhi afloat. However, the Pune side managed to carry out an ALL OUT in the last minute of the first half, but still trailed at 20-21. But, Shinde effected a raid and Nadarajan tackled Naveen to hand Puneri the lead at 22-21 at the end of the first half.

Shinde continued to shine in the second half as the Pune side earned a three-point lead at 25-22 in the 24th minute. Moments later, the Paltan tackled Manjeet and inflicted another ALL OUT to attain a stronghold of the match at 30-24. Pune's Shinde pulled off a brilliant SUPER RAID in the 29th minute, catching out Vishal, Ashu Malik & Krishan and helped his team take a massive lead at 35-25. However, Naveen effected a SUPER RAID soon after and kept Delhi's hopes alive. But, the Pune side kept raging on and inflicted an ALL OUT to race into a 9-point lead at 41-30 in the 31st minute.

However, Naveen was in no mood to give up as he pulled off a magnificent multi-point raid in the 37th minute to keep his team in the game at 38-43. Moments later, Ravi Kumar tackled Nabibakhsh as the Delhi side inflicted an ALL OUT to get within touching distance of Pune's score at 43-46. However, the Puneri Paltan played their cards perfectly in the last minute and clinched a thriller in the end.

Tamil Thalaivas vs Telugu Titans

The Tamil Thalaivas’ skipper Ajinkya Pawar led by example as his side produced a scintillating display to defeat the Telugu Titans by a scoreline of 52-24 in match 116 of PKL 9 at the Gachibowli Indoor Stadium on Saturday. Ajinkya Pawar finished the game with 20 points of his own while Narender added 10 more to the cause, leading the Tamil Thalaivas to a massive win. 

It was a cautious start with both the Telugu Titans and the Tamil Thalaivas going at each other, trading points in the early exchanges, not allowing either side to get a hold of proceedings. On the five-minute mark, the Tamil Thalaivas though sneaked ahead, leading by 6-3. Captain Ajinkya Pawar, Sahil Gulia and Narender making some telling contributions for the Tamil Thalaivas.

The Ajinkya Pawar led side started to consolidate their position from then on in, getting an 8-point lead at one stage before the Telugu Titans’ K Hanumanthu started to chip away at the lead, with some impressive raids. Soon enough though, the Tamil Thalaivas’ defensive got their act going, with M Abhishek and Mohit standing tall, helping them storm into a 7-point lead. Before the end of the first half, Ajinkya Pawar helped inflict an ALL OUT on the Telugu Titans and in the process brought up his Super 10. At the break, the Tamil Thalaivas led by 26-16 and were firmly in the box seat.

After the breather, both sets of players took their time to get going, but it was the Tamil Thalaivas’ skipper who was leading from the front with an incredible Super Raid, that took out five players, giving Ajinkya Pawar and co a bigger advantage to work with. Abhishek Singh landed a three-point raid right after, but with just under ten minutes to go, the Tamil Thalaivas had a 16-point lead.  

Ajinkya inflicted another ALL OUT on the Telugu Titans while Narender joined the party as well, pushing the Tamil Thalaivas towards the half-century with less than five minutes to go. Soon enough, the fifty-point mark was breached, and the Tamil Thalaivas eventually ran away as comfortable winners on the night, much to the joy of their fans. 

Jaipur Pink Panthers vs Bengal Warriors

The Jaipur Pink Panthers put up a clinical performance to defeat Bengal Warriors 57-31 in the vivo Pro Kabaddi League Season 9 at the Gachibowli Indoor Stadium in Hyderabad on Saturday. With this victory, the Panthers regained the top spot on the points table. The current top two sides in the standings - Jaipur Pink Panthers and Puneri Paltan have sealed their spots in the Playoffs.

Arjun Deshwal chipped in with a few raid points as the Jaipur Pink Panthers took the lead at 6-2 in the 6th minute. V Ajith Kumar also joined the party and helped Jaipur to keep moving forward. Deshwal pulled off a brilliant raid in the 10th minute and reduced the Warriors to just two members on the mat. Moments later, the Panthers inflicted an ALL OUT and took a massive lead at 13-4. Maninder Singh and Shrikant Jadhav found it difficult to breach the Jaipur defense as the Pink Panthers continued to extend their lead. Jaipur kept raging on and carried out another ALL OUT in the 18th minute to completely dominate the match at 23-7. V Ajith Kumar effected another touch point as the Panthers led 26-9 at the end of the first half.

Shrikant Jadhav carried out a multi-point raid in the opening minutes of the second half, however, Jaipur's V Ajith Kumar also effected a multi-point raid soon after. Ajith didn't take his foot off the pedal and reduced the Warriors to two members on the mat. However, Shubham Shinde carried out a SUPER TACKLE in the 26th minute and helped his team stay afloat. However, the Warriors couldn't hold on for too long as the Panthers inflicted an ALL OUT in the 29th minute and led comfortably at 39-18. Maninder Singh and R Guhan picked up raid points for the Warriors, but it was too big a mountain to climb for them at 24-43 in the 35th minute. Thereafter, Ajith and Deshwal kept picking up raid points at regular intervals as the Panthers closed out a comprehensive victory.

Award Winners of the Night: 

Match 1: Dabang Delhi K.C. vs Puneri Paltan 

vivo Perfect Player of the Match - Akash Shinde (Puneri Paltan)

Dream 11 Gamechanger of the Match - Pankaj Mohite (Puneri Paltan)

Moment of the Match - Akash Shinde (Puneri Paltan)

Match 2: Telugu Titans vs Tamil Thalaivas 

vivo Perfect Player of the Match - Ajinkya Pawar (Tamil Thalaivas)

Dream 11 Gamechanger of the Match - Ajinkya Pawar (Tamil Thalaivas)

Moment of the Match - Ajinkya Pawar (Tamil Thalaivas)

Match 3: Jaipur Pink Panthers vs Bengal Warriors

vivo Perfect Player of the Match - Arjun Deshwal (Jaipur Pink Panthers)

Dream 11 Gamechanger of the Match - V Ajith Kumar (Jaipur Pink Panthers)

Moment of the Match - Sunil Kumar (Jaipur Pink Panthers)