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The second day of the Inter-zone challenge week resumed action after a day's break as the home side Puneri Paltan took to the mat against the Tamil Thalaivas at the Shree Shiv Chhatrapati Sports Complex in Pune, Maharashtra.
The first match of the day saw U Mumba dominate Telugu Titans and come away with a 41-20 victory as Siddharth Desai starred for the Maharashtra side with 17 raid points from 19 attempted raids.
Puneri Paltan had been in good form on their home turf, as they had garnered three wins on the trot after losing their opening match of the Pune leg. Since then, however, their defence had picked up steam and been a huge contributor to the run of wins as the skipper Girish Maruti Ernak and Ravi Kumar combined well in the backline.
Nitin Tomar had been the star man for them on the raiding front, but he hoped for more support from fellow raiders on the mat. Puneri Paltan had looked well-balanced overall in the home leg and hoped to continue their winning form against the Tamil Thalaiavas.
Tamil Thalaivas were on a five-game losing streak and were hoping to turn things around. Ajay Thakur has been the only steady performer for the side with his raiding points but the rest of the side hoped to buck up and support their captain on the mat.
Manjeet Chillar and his defense hoped to get stable on the mat with their tackles to keep the Puneri Paltan side in check. They hoped to turn their fortunes around tonight against the in-form home team.
Tamil Thalaivas put on a strong all-around display to overpower the Puneri Paltan side as Ajay Thakur and Manjeet Chillar lead the side to a 36-31 win. With this win, the Tamil Thalaivas broke their losing streak in the league.
Puneri Paltan
Girish Maruti Ernak - (4/10)
The Puneri Paltan captain started off on a slow note in tonight's match as he was caught by Ajay Thakur on a couple of occasions. He finished his second match in a row with no tackle points.
Ravi Kumar - (6.5/10)
The defender started the second half on a stellar note scoring four tackle points which included a strong tackle on the Tamil Thalaivas captain Ajay Thakur.
Shubham Shinde - (5/10)
The right corner defender for the Puneri Paltan had an off-night as he failed to score a single tackle point in the first half of the match. He managed two good ankle holds during the final minute of the match.
Rinku Narwal - (3/10)
The left corner defender scored a single tackle point in the first half with an ankle hold on Sukesh Hegde. However, he failed to get any tackles executed in the second half of the match.
Monu - (6/10)
The all-rounder started on a promising note in the match scoring a couple of key points for the home side but cooled off as the match progressed on and the Thalaivas took control.
Nitin Tomar - (7/10)
The star man for the Puneri Paltan had a quiet night compared to his usual high-scoring standards and had scored just four raid points in the first half of the match. He added another four in the second half but missed out on his Super 10 in the match.
Akshay Jadhav - (3/10)
The Maharashtrian all-rounder got his start tonight after an impressive in the last match but unfortunately could not continue the momentum tonight. Jadhav failed to get going on the scoreboard tonight.
Substitutes:
GB More - (8/10)
The raider came on in the first half when Puneri Paltan were down to their last man on the mat and produced the goods, keeping them in the game with his touch points. He was especially successful with his bonus points scoring ability and finished with a total of 10 raid points, getting his first Super 10 this season.
Tamil Thalaivas
Amit Hooda - (4/10)
The right corner had a very quiet match tonight but came alive in the final minute when he put two strong tackles on Nitin Tomar and Monu.
Manjeet Chillar - (7/10)
The experienced man on the mat for the Tamil Thalaivas was in good form tonight as he just missed out on a High 5 of tackle points. He put in his classic body holds on the Pune raiders and guided the defenders well on the field.
Ajay Thakur - (9/10)
The skipper was in superb form tonight and notched up another Super 10 as he finished with 12 raid points with a 60% strike raid keeping his consistency going this season.
Sukesh Hegde - (5.5/10)
The former Telugu Titans and Gujarat Fortunegiants man got a start tonight ahead of Athul MS and did fairly well with his chances. He got a couple of touch points as well as smart bonus points and finished with 4 points on the night.
Jasvir Singh - (7/10)
The veteran raider looked in his element tonight as he scored 8 points tonight and was involved in the crucial situations for the Thalaivas, including the final raid of the match. He even got a good tackle point on Monu with a strong dash.
Sunil- (5/10)
The corner defender got one tackle point in the match but was a good support to the other defenders with his assists.
Darshan J - (4/10)
The cover defender had a quiet night on the mat with tackles but did well to support his teammates on the mat as they dealt with the dangerous Puneri Paltan raiders.
