Ahmedabad: Star raider Ajinkya Pawar was on fire as he went on to register a 21-point haul to help Tamil Thalaivas walk off the mat 42-31 winners against Dabang Delhi K.C. in a Season 10 match of the Pro Kabaddi League (PKL) here on Sunday evening.
The contest started with both sides being watchful in the early minutes. The early exchanges saw both teams bag a couple of points each, with Ajinkya Pawar and Naveen Kumar getting their team off the mark.
Neither side was ready to blink first, and the Tamil Thalaivas were looking very strong at the back. The trend continued well into the second phase of the first half, as the Tamil Thalaivas and Dabang Delhi K.C. exchanged blows, not allowing the opposition to get a sizeable lead.
Ajinkya Pawar and Sahil Gulia took charge for the Tamil Thalaivas, while Naveen and Ashu Malik were pushing the envelope for the Dabang Delhi K.C. side. With the first half nearing the end, the Tamil Thalaivas landed an All-Out on Manjeet and stormed into the lead.
Dabang Delhi K.C. though were having none of that and went through the gears quickly, with Naveen registering a Super Raid. At half-time, the Tamil Thalaivas were 4 points ahead, with the contest well and truly on a knife edge.
Dabang Delhi K.C. needed to up the ante in the second half, and they gave it their all after the breather.
Nonetheless, the Tamil Thalaivas were on a roll. Ajinkya Rawar registered his Super 10 and was ably aided by Narender and Himanshu, which helped them stretch the lead to a 6-point one, early in the second half. At this point, the Tamil Thalaivas were looking to build on their lead, and Ajinkya was marching on towards a 20-point haul.
In the final 10 minutes, the game swung in favour of the Tamil Thalaivas, who were on fire in all departments on the day. Dabang Delhi K.C. left no stone unturned in the second half, however, there were a few instances where there was a slip between the cup and the lip, and the opponents made that count.
Eventually, the men in yellow, the Tamil Thalaivas stormed over the line, winning the contest with relative ease.
–IANS