Tamil Thalaivas and U Mumba play out thrilling tie in Pro Kabaddi League

Jaipur Pink Panthers edge past UP Yoddha in the second match of the day.

V Ajith Kumar’s heroics with raids was not good enough for U Mumba as they settled for a 30-30 tie against Tamil Thaliavas in match 15 of vivo Pro Kabaddi League Season 8 held at The Sheraton Grand, Whitefield, Bengaluru. The raider scored 15 points in the match to help U Mumba take a lead after trailing for long periods - but a last-minute blunder by the season 2 champions helped Thalaivas escape with a tie, their second of the season.

The first half began with Tamil Thaliavas defenders paying no respect for the Pro Kabaddi League Season 2 champions. Captain Surjeet Singh, ably supported by Sahil Singh in the left corner, thwarted Mumbai raiders Abhishek Singh and V Ajith Kumar in successive attempts. With Manjeet and Bhavani Rajput, both lanky raiders with massive reach, impressing with their raids, the Thaliavas clinched their first ALL OUT in the 7th minute to open up an 8-point lead.The Thalaivas had 6 successful tackles as opposed to none by U Mumba in the first 15-minutes but they lost their course in the final minutes of the first half. Mumbai scored 9 points in the last 5 minutes of the half though.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fFr-M2WtIQM

Ajith Kumar, produced a stunning 4-point Super Raid and an additional 2 points for ALL OUT, to reduce the Tamil Thaliavas lead to just two points in the last minute of the Pro Kabaddi League encounter. The first half ended 17-14 in favour of Thaliavas but with momentum on Mumbai’s side in the Pro Kabaddi League.

Tamil Thaliavas continued with their aggressive approach in the early minutes of the second half with Bhavani Rajput looking their best raider. But the Thalaivas continued to struggle against their former raider Ajith Kumar who clinched his Super 10 and helped Mumbai keep pace - that proved to be the difference as his raid points fetched U Mumba an ALL OUT with 6 minutes remaining in the match. For the third match in a row, Thalaivas had allowed a team to make a comeback and take the lead. But the team from Chennai calculated the last raids effectively to ensure Mumbai had to make a do-or-die attempt in the last move of the match. Ajith Kumar went for the touch instead of sacrificing himself for a bonus point and the Thalaivas defence rounded him off to clinch a tie in the Pro Kabaddi League.

Jaipur Pink Panthers edge past UP Yoddha

Arjun Deshwal starred for Jaipur Pink Panthers as they beat UP Yoddha 32-29 in match 16 of vivo Pro Kabaddi League Season 8 held at The Sheraton Grand, Whitefield, Bengaluru. The young raider who joined after the auctions from U Mumba scored 11 points for Jaipur who also saw their captain Deepak Hooda contribute with important 9 points.

It was yet another disappointing night for “record-breaker” Pardeep Narwal who scored just 3 raid points from 12 attempts.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X92ZPxogX0o

The match started with Jaipur on the front foot. The season 1 champions, under the leadership of captain Deepak Hooda, kept picking up solid raid points while ensuring UP’s Pardeep Narwal stayed on the bench. Arjun Deshwal complimented Deepak Hooda with 5 raid points in the first half as the Pink Panthers clinched their first ALL OUT with 3 minutes remaining in the half to open an 8-point lead.

Surender Gill, fresh from his heroics against Patna Pirates, thought he had reduced the Panthers’ lead when he got a 3-point Super Raid in the final minute. But Deepak Hooda then fetched a 3-point Super Raid in the final move of the half that ended 19-12 in Jaipur’s favour.

Pardeep Narwal’s lack of raid points became a big concern for UP Yoddha who paid 1.65 crores at the PKL auctions to lure him. But Rohit Tomar kept UP raiding unit alive while the corner defenders Nitesh Kumar and Sumit slowly started getting their act together. They reduced Jaipur’s lead to 4 points with 10 minutes left in the match.

Arjun Deshwal continued his good work for Jaipur as he made three Super 10s in three matches. With six minutes remaining Jaipur had a 7-point lead but in Rohit Tomar, UP found a hero. The lanky all-rounder scored points at both ends to ensure Jaipur remained at a striking distance with 5 minutes left in the clock. Pardeep Narwal meanwhile could not find form in the dying minutes. 

Despite great raiding by Rohit and Surender Gill, the UP defence could not nail down Deepak Hooda in the final raid of the match which allowed Jaipur to win the match.

For more updates, follow Khel Now Kabaddi on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and join our community on Telegram.