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Puneri Paltan began their Chennai leg with a scintillating tie against the home team, Tamil Thalaivas. The nail biting thriller kept everyone at the edge of their seats till the very last minute at Chennai’s Jawaharlal Nehru Indoor Stadium on Sunday.
Captain Surjeet Singh put up a great performance and was adjudged the ace defender and won the moment of the match for his defensive skills. Youngsters Pankaj and Manjeet were the stars for Puneri Paltan in a match that had been billed as a clash of the Kabaddi stalwarts.
In the initial stage, the early strategy from the home team was clearly to use Rahul Chaudhari in the raids and preserve Ajay Thakur for the latter stages. But the plan backfired as the Paltan defence held firm and troubled the Tamil raiders. Pankaj Mohite was once again the best raider on the mat for Pune as the team inflicted the first all-out on the Thalaivas with nine minutes remaining till half time. Puneri Paltan dominated the first half with their breathtaking performance as it ended in 15-13.
The second half turned things around with Chennai clinching their first all-out within two minutes after the restart. Defender Girish Ernak was the target for the Tamil raiders while Manjeet’s all-round efforts for Paltan kept the battle neck-to-neck.
Hadi Tajik’s tackle with just under five minutes remaining took out Rahul Chaudhari but Ajeet restored parity with his raid, sending Girish Ernak to the dugout in the process.
Pankaj Mohite, playing his first Pro Kabaddi season, defied his experience, to push his side ahead with little over three minutes remaining and reducing the Thailavas on the mat to one. But Ajeet, secured four points in a Super Raid, with slightly over two minutes remaining in the encounter, to tilt the balance once again in Thalaivas’ favour.
But both Rahul Chaudhari for Thalaivas and Manjeet for Paltan failed in their attempts at Do-or-Die raids in the final minute which saw the sides settling for a draw.
Puneri Paltan to have their next encounter against the Bengaluru Bulls on August 21st 2019.
