Tamil Thalaivas Vs Patna Pirates 17 October 2022

That's it we have from here and it's time to end the coverage. Until next time, this is Pragadeesh signing off

Full time: Tamil Thalaivas 33-32 Patna Pirates

What a thrilling contest it turned out to be. It was a see-saw battle right from the word go but the Pirates had the lead until the 30th minute before Himanshu Singh's heroic raids dragged the Thalaivas back into the contest in the last 10 minutes. The Pirates were so defensive in the dying moments of the game as the Thalaivas edged past them in a nail-biter and get their first win of the season

Both defense were not at their best as they were handing cheap points to the raiders with loose tackles. Sachin and Rohit Gulia, who were a big threat to the Thalaivas' defence in the first half failed to carry their goods in the final phase of the game.

The changes that Uday Kumar made paid huge dividends in the end as Himanshu Singh's stunning raids and Ashish's successful tackle on Rohit Gulia in the last seconds of the match proved to be pivotal moments of the match

40' Narendar goes for the buzzer raid and it turns out to be a do-or-die raid for the Thalaivas. He is just killing time and is happy to award Patna Pirates a point. The Thalaivas get their first win of the season

Tamil Thalaivas 33-32 Patna Pirates

40' Ashish sends Rohit Gulia back to the bench with an unbelievable tackle and the Thalaivas take a two-point lead with less than 20 seconds to go 

40 seconds to go. At least two raids left

39' Tamil Thalaivas review the bonus point awarded to Rohit Gulia. A big decision coming up. It's deemed as an unsuccessful review eventually

Tamil Thalaivas 32-31 Patna Pirates

Two minutes to go...

38' Tamil Thalaivas inflict their first all-out and take a two-point lead. What a stunning comeback this from the Thalaivas.

Tamil Thalaivas 32-30 Patna Pirates

37' Himanshu sends two men back to the bench and it's all level now. More importantly, the Pirates have just a solitary player on the mat now

Tamil Thalaivas 29-29 Patna Pirates

37' A big do-or-die raid coming up for the Pirates. Sachin takes the responsibility but Sahil Gulia times his thigh hold beautifully and sends Pirates' leading raider back to the bench

Tamil Thalaivas 27-29 Patna Pirates

Less than five minutes to go and this is not over by any means. Himanshu Singh is suddenly creating headaches for the Pirates' defense and dragging Thalaivas back to the contest

TIME OUT!

35' Himanshu Singh continues to lead the fight and the difference is just three points now

33' Himanshu Singh is fighting like a lone warrior in the raiding department for the Thalaivas as he gets a bonus and takes one Pirates' defender off the mat

32' A couple of empty raids for the Pirates. Here comes Rohit Gulia for the do-or-die raid and he gets a running hand touch on Sahil Gulia before going to the lobby

Tamil Thalaivas 22-29 Patna Pirates

The Thalaivas badly needed this time-out and it's interesting to see coach Uday Kumar's pep talk. Their defence is failing miserably and Narendar is not getting any support from the other raiders. Patna Pirates, on the other hand, has been sensational in the second half and they have to capitalise on the momentum in the last 9 minutes

TIME OUT!

30' Here comes the do-or-die raid for the Pirates. A double thigh hold from Visvanath is not strong enough as Rohit easily makes his way back to the mid-line

Tamil Thalaivas 27-22 Patna Pirates

28' Narendar gets a point for the Thalaivas as Neeraj makes his way back to the bench

27' A failed ankle hold from Sahil Gulia as Sachin gets a point for the pirates. Then, here comes the second all-out for the Thalaivas as Chiyaneh's double thigh hold was too strong for Himanshu Narwal to escape from it and make his way back to the mid-line

Tamil Thalaivas 21-26 Patna Pirates

25' Sachin comes for the do-or-die raid and he gets a running hand touch on Himanshu Singh. The Thalaivas are reduced to two again

23' A fantastic raid from Himanshu Singh as he gets two points and saves Tamil Thalaivas from another all-out

Tamil Thalaivas 19-21 Patna Pirates

23' The Patna defence find a way to send Narendar back to the bench and the Thalaivas are reduced to two

22' A failed ankle hold from Himanshu as Rohit Gulia makes his way back to the mid-line

Tamil Thalaivas 16-19 Patna Pirates

Half Time: Tamil Thalaivas 15-17 Patna Pirates

This match is neck and neck at the moment. The Thalaivas have started off well and got to a 5-1 lead but the Pirates came up with a strong response and inflicted a first all-out. Sachin and Rohit Gulia have started to dictate terms after a slow start but the defence of the Pirates has to come good in the second half. 

Chiyaneh is committing cheap errors, while the Thalaivas' defence is not too good either.  The corner defenders Sagar and Sahil Gulia found their way back to the bench time and again. An interesting second half coming your way shortly and it's interesting to see who get their first win of the season

20' Rohit Gulia comes for the last raid of the first half and sends Sahil Gulia and Abishek back to the bench. The Pirates restore the lead again

19' Narendar gets a sliding toe-touch and gets a point for the Thalaivas. It's all square at the moment as both teams continue to trade blows at the moment

Tamil Thalaivas 15-15 Patna Pirates

18' DO-OR DIE RAID FOR THE PIRATES! Oh, here comes the failed tackle from Sagar from the right corner as Sachin gets a point for the Pirates

16' Patna Pirates inflicts the first ALL-OUT and they take a three-point lead at the moment

Tamil Thalaivas 10-13 Patna Pirates

14' Chiyaneh fails to produce his good as the raider from the Thalaivas gets a super raid but Sachin escaped from the tackle in the following raid to send two Thalaivas' players back to the bench

13' The Thalaivas are suddenly reduced to two and Sachin sends one more to the mat with a diving hand touch. Patna takes a lead for the first time

12' A failed ankle hold from Sahil Gulia before Sagar fell on Rohit Gulia, who is already on his way back to the mid-line. Two points for the Pirates and it's all level now

Tamil Thalaivas 6-6 Patna Pirates

9' The defence from both teams is so strong so far and the raiders are having a tough time at the moment. They are only going for the touch in the do-or-die raids

9' Sachin comes in for the do-or-die raid but he fell prey to Himanshu's incredible double thigh hold

Tamil Thalaivas 6-3 Patna Pirates

7' A diving running hand touch from Monu sends Sahil Gulia to the bench before the Pirates' defence tackled Narendar

Tamil Thalaivas 5-3 Patna Pirates

6' WHAT A TACKLE! Sahil Gulia with an unbelievable tackle on Rohit Gulia, who can't make his way back to the mid-line

Tamil Thalaivas 4-1 Patna Pirates

4' A loose tackle from Chiyaneh in a do-or-die raid for Thalaivas. Visvanath makes his way back to the mid-line

3' Patna Pirates are yet to open their account

Tamil Thalaivas 2-0 Patna Pirates

1' Narendar gets a bonus point for the Thalaivas in his first raid before the Thalaivas' defence pinned Sachin down in the following raid

It's time for the national anthem now.

The players make their way out to the middle - Patna Pirates first and then followed by Tamil Thalaivas. We are moments away from the action to begin

Starting Seven:

Tamil Thalaivas: Narendar, M. Abishek, Mohit, Himashu, Visvanath V, Sagar, Sahil Gulia

Patna Pirates: Sachin, Neeraj Kumar, Sajin C, Rohit Gulia, Monu, Sunil, Mohammadreza Chiyaneh

Hello and welcome to the LIVE coverage of the PKL match between Tamil Thalaivas and Patna Pirates. This is Pragadeesh and I will take you through everything that unfolds in this contest. As we wait for the starting seven from both teams, have a look at the preview below

Since losing Pawan Sehrawat to a nasty knee injury in the opening match, Tamil Thalaivas have been below par in the next two matches, while the three-time champions Patna Pirates have been struggling too with their new combination, so this is proving to be a bottom of the table clash.

Both teams will be desperate to get their first win this season but to do that, the under performing raiders from both teams have to fire on all cylinders. The young raider Narender has been Tamil Thalaivas' top raider so far, getting 28 raid points, but he is not getting enough support from the other raiders.

The defence of the Thalaivas has been shaky too so far as they have attempted loose tackles to gift a point to the opposition easily. The mistakes from the corner defenders Sahil Gulia and Sagar often led to Thalaivas' downfall in the previous matches, so they have to come out good in order to taste their first success.

On the other hand, the Pirates have enough firepower in their line up and it's surprising to see their struggles so far. Sachin was one of the shining lights last season but he couldn't replicate his heroics in the crunch moments this year, while Mohammadreza Chiyaneh, who has been touted as one of the promising young defenders, is yet to make an impact this year

This is going to be a crackerjack of a contest if both teams play according to their potential. Also, this match is also deemed as the battle between Sachin and Thalaivas' defence, so it's interesting to see whether Sagar & co can stop the dangerous raider