Hyderabad: Narender and captain Ajinkya Pawar put on a stunning show for the Tamil Thalaivas, who defeated the UP Yoddhas by a scoreline of 43-28 at the Gachibowli Indoor Stadium. The win for the Tamil Thalaivas meant they secured a berth in the playoffs in Mumbai, and became the fifth team to progress to the next round.
The Tamil Thalaivas were out of the blocks the quickest with Narender and Ajinkya Pawar giving them a 5-0 lead in the first few minutes. And while Anil Kumar picked up the first points for the UP Yoddhas, the Tamil Thalaivas were well and truly in control in the initial phase of play.
As the half progressed, the UP Yoddhas kept chipping away at the with Anil doing most of the heavy lifting for his side. However, the Tamil Thalaivas were doing enough to keep their noses in front with the likes of Himanshu, Mohit and Arpit Saroha providing Narender and Ajinkya with ample support.
For most of the first half, the UP Yoddhas’ raiding wasn’t as effective as they would have liked it to be, while the Tamil Thalaivas’ defenders had a spring in their steps. By the time the players stopped for a breather, the Tamil Thalaivas led by a scoreline of 18-9.
Even though the second half started off with both sides trading points early on, the Tamil Thalaivas were in control of proceedings. With a little over 13 minutes to go, the UP Yoddhas landed their first ALL OUT of the game, and were raising hopes of a comeback as they ate into the Tamil Thalaivas’ lead.
With 10 minutes left in the game, the UP Yoddhas had reduced the Tamil Thalaivas’ lead to 6 points. However, soon after a time-out, the Tamil Thalaivas upped the ante once again, and marched on, making it a 13-point lead with 6 minutes to go. Narender had already registered his Super 10 while Ajinkya too was scoring points for fun. Eventually, the Tamil Thalaivas walked off the mat with the win, and flight tickets for Mumbai.
–IANS
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