Tamil Thalaivas v/s UP Yodhas match Recap

Match 43 of the Zone B, Pro Kabbaddi league 2017 proved to be a thriller of a match as the Yoddhas and Thalaivas ended the game in a tie. Neither teams seemed to give away the win easy and kept the fight on until the very end. The audience at the Babu Benarasi Das Indoor Stadium were more than happy to witness this clash.

Coming off four straight defeats, The U.P. Yoddhas came into the match with something to prove. Starting on the right foot, the Yoddhas took a dominating 14-3 lead in the first ten minutes of the first half. A gradual improvement was noticed from the Thalaivas through the first half, however they still found themselves struggling with the intensity of their opponents. The first half ended with a score of 19-11 favouring the U.P. Yoddhas.

A marked improvement in the second half saw the Tamil Thalaivas bring their own intensity into the game. Despite gathering a major lead, the Yoddhas found it difficult to maintain their grasp on the match and found their lead slipping away. Ajay Thakur of the Tamil Thalaivas put in a true captain’s performance as he led by example with a fantastic showing. His performance in the second half saw the Thalaivas fight back to equalise the score at 19-19 in the second half.

Spotting the potential for another consecutive loss, the Yoddhas skipper Nitin Tomar and Raider Rishank Devadiga executed a number of raids by the 30^th minute to bring the score to 26-24 favouring their side. In the final 3 minutes of the game, the Yoddhas scored a raid and tackle point each to bring the score to 32-31 and looked to be on course to win. However, a perfectly executed raid by Vineet Kumar and a further tackle point gained by the Thalaivas saw them bring this exciting clash to a close with the scores tied at 33-33

Highlights of the match:

Rishank Devadiga’s fantastic performance saw him earn 14 points for the Yoddhas, while Tamil Thalaivas captain Ajay Thakur was extremely effective after a subdued first half, and achieved his 11^th Super 10 of his Pro Kabaddi League career. Defender Amit Hooda was an assured presence in the Thalaivas defence and put in a typical understated yet effective performance.