Puneri Paltan topple Tamil Thalaivas by 33-20
Chennai, 29th September, 2017: Puneri Paltan produced a composed performance in the last 10 minutes to outclass Tamil Thalaivas 33-20 in Inter Zone Challenge Week of Vivo Pro Kabaddi Season 5. It was an evenly fought match for 30 minutes but Deepak Hooda helped Pune inflict two all outs to record a comfortable victory. Tamil Thalaivas suffered as Ajay Thakur was kept in check by Puneri Paltan for most of the match.
Puneri Paltan are third in Zone A table with 52 points from 13 matches. Tamil Thalaivas are bottom of the pile in Zone B with 32 points from 14 matches.
In a closely contested first half both teams refused to give an inch and were neck and neck in raid and tackle points. No all outs were inflicted in the first half. Tamil Thalaivas led 3-1 in the fourth minute but Rajesh Mondal scored with a two-point raid to level the match at 3-3. Tamil Thalaivas scored three straight points in three minutes to lead 6-3 after seven minutes. But Puneri Paltan were back on level terms after nine minutes with the score at 6-6.
It was Puneri Paltan’s turn to get ahead as they led 9-6 in the 13th minute after scoring two tackle points. Deepak Hooda scored a raid point in the 17th minute to give Puneri Paltan 11-10 lead. Dong Geon Lee scored two points in a raid as Tamil Thalaivas led 12-11 at the end of the first half. Ajay Thakur had a quiet first half and scored just three points for Tamil Thalaivas.
The second half was very much like the first half as in the first five minutes Tamil Thalaivas scored two points to lead 14-11 in the 24th minute. But Puneri Paltan forced a super tackle to level the match at 14-14 after 26 minutes. Sandeep Narwal was struggling to get tackle and raid points for Puneri Paltan as he failed to get on the scoresheet for the first 30 minutes of the match.
With 10 minutes left on the clock, Puneri Paltan held a slender one-point advantage and led 16-15. Deepak Hooda scored with a two-point raid as Puneri Paltan inflicted the first all out of the match to lead 21-15. Puneri Paltan then scored two tackle points to lead 23-16 in the 33rd minute. Puneri Paltan inflicted another all out in the 37th minute to lead 30-17. The all out extinguished any little hope Thalaivas had of a comeback as they crashed to a 20-33 defeat
Post-Match Presentation
- VIVO Perfect Raider of the Match – Deepak Hooda (Puneri Paltan)
- TVS Jupiter Zyada Ka Fayda Player of the match – Monu (Puneri Paltan)
- Do or Die Player of the Match Presented by Star Sports – Rajesh Mondal (Puneri Paltan)
- Tamil Thalaivas Moment of the Match – Deepak Hooda (Puneri Paltan)
