Ajinkya Pawar’s incredible form continues as Tamil Thalaivas and Patna Pirates play out a tie

A back-and-forth contest between the Tamil Thalaivas and Pirates finished in a 30-30 tie. They extended their unbeaten streaks to five and four games, respectively. Ajinkya Pawar stole the show, scoring 12 points after coming off the bench.

The game was evenly poised for the first eight minutes, but a two-point from Monu Goyat turned the tide in the Pirates’ favour. Mohammadreza Chiyaneh and Prashanth Kumar Rai’s solid work on defence gave Patna a four-point lead as they closed in on an All Out.

Ajinkya Pawar came off the bench and picked up bonus points at will, but Patna continued to add to their tally with touches and tackles and reduced the Thalaivas to just a couple of men on the mat. Monu’s excellent Ankle Hold on Pawar helped the Pirates finally inflict an All Out to take a seven-point lead. The Thalaivas scored the final point of the first half to go into the break trailing 12-18.

 The Thalaivas started the second half in tremendous fashion, courtesy of Pawar, who added four points to his team’s total in just three minutes. The raider’s two-point raid cut the Thalaivas’ deficit to just and left the Pirates with just a solitary man on the mat. The defence allowed Guman Singh to pick up the bonus before pinning him down to inflict an All Out on the Pirates and take the lead.

Bhavani Rajput helped the Thalaivas push their lead to three, but Monu and the Pirates’ defence helped their team level the scores with under four minutes left in the contest. The Thalaivas’ defence helped their side reclaim the lead with a stellar chain tackle on Monu. But no sooner had they seized the advantage, Chiyaneh took it away with a sensational block on Pawar to level the scores.

Sachin’s swift toe-touch gave the Pirates the lead, but Thalaivas’ Athul MS came through at the end, picking up a raid point to rescue the game for his side.

Top Performers

Patna Pirates

Best Raider – Monu Goyat (8 Raid Points)

Best Defender – Mohammadreza Chiyaneh (3 Tackle Points)

Tamil Thalaivas

Best Raider – Ajinkya Pawar (12 Raid Points)

Best Defender – Surjeet Singh (4 Tackle Points)