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What's the story?
Tamil Thalaivas have become the first team to be knocked out of Pro Kabaddi 2019 after they suffered their 12th loss of the season at the hands of UP Yoddha on Saturday night. In the 18 matches the Thalaivas have played so far, they have earned only 30 points, courtesy of their 3 wins, 3 ties and 12 losses.
The background
Heading into the seventh edition of Pro Kabaddi League, Tamil Thalaivas were backed by a lot of fans to lift the trophy this season. They made some really smart purchases in the auction and built a dream kabaddi team, featuring Indian captain Ajay Thakur, the poster boy Rahul Chaudhari, the highly-talented Shabeer Bappu and the terrific trio of Manjeet Chhillar, Mohit Chhillar and Ran Singh. Also, they had a former PKL-winning coach, Edachery Bhaskaran by their side which made Tamil Thalaivas the ultimate favourites.
The heart of the matter
With just 4 matches left to play in the league stage, even if Tamil Thalaivas win all their matches, they will have only 50 points to their name. The top 6 teams will make it to the play-offs and currently 5 teams have 50 or more points while the sixth-placed U Mumba have 48 points. Also, Jaipur Pink Panthers and Puneri Paltan are very near to the 50-point mark.
Looking at the remaining number of fixtures of the aforementioned three teams, there are zero mathematical possibilities of Tamil Thalaivas making it to the top 6. It is surprising to note that one of the mightiest teams of the league has become the first team to be eliminated from the tournament.
All the star players of the franchise disappointed the fans with their performances and their home leg was where the disaster started. Prior to their home leg, the Thalaivas had just 2 losses in 6 matches but then they lost their momentum during the Chennai leg and never regained it.
The impressive performance of V. Ajith Kumar was the only bright spot for the Chennai-based franchise who may remain at the bottom spot of the points table until the end of the season.
What's next?
Tamil Thalaivas have a winless streak of 12 matches at the moment and they will look to end that streak when they battle the Gujarat Fortune Giants next.
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