PKL 2021: Substitute Ajinkya Pawar shines as Tamil Thalaivas taste first win of season

Ajinkya
Pawar
was
a
treat
to
fans
–
he
had
every
trick
in
the
book
to
negate
all
attempts
from
the
Puneri
Paltan
defence.
He
was
a
live-wire
as
he
plotted
his
game
beautifully.
He
chalked
out
his
escape
routes
well,
had
enough
firepower
in
him
to
escape
the
defenders’ clutches
and
slowly
became
Tamil
Thalaivas’
do-or-die
raid
specialist.

Tamil
Thalaivas
came
out
all
guns
blazing
and
eased
themselves
to
a
2-0
lead
with
Sahil
Singh
tackled
by
showman
Rahul
Chaudhari
with
a
scintillating
double
ankle
hold.
The
Tamil
Nadu
team
increased
their
lead
gradually
with
Manjeet
picking
up
bonus
points
in
his
raids
and
Surjeet
Singh
executing
formidable
blocks.

Manjeet
was
in
red-hot
form
and
was
unstoppable
in
the
initial
raids.
He
went
for
a
raid,
took
three
Puneri
Paltan
defenders
in
his
wake,
and
put
Tamil
Thalaivas
in
a
position
of
strength
at
9-2.

Going
by
how
the
Tamil
Thalaivas
were
dominating
the
game,
an
all-out
was
on
the
cards
and
the
Paltan
suffered
their
first
all-out
early
into
the
game,
conceding
a
9-point
lead
at
3-12.

A
change
of
tactics
from
Puneri
Paltan,
relying
on
their
defensive
strength
did
wonders
for
them
as
they
gradually
grew
into
the
game.

Pune
defenders
Abinesh
Nadarajan
and
Vishal
Bharadwaj
upped
their
game
as
the
Tamil
Thalaivas
seemed
to
lose
the
plot,
unable
to
free
themselves
from
the
defenders’ clutches.

A
drop
in
intensity
from
Tamil
Thalaivas’
Manjeet
was
what
Pune
were
looking
for
and
the
raider
had
no
answers
to
a
strong
Puneri
defence.

Puneri
Paltan
reduced
the
arrears
in
a
quick
fashion
and
were
only
trailing
by
7
points
at
11-18
when
the
referee
blew
the
whistle
for
halftime.

Puneri
Paltan
came
stronger
after
the
break
while
it
was
an
all-familiar
story
for
Tamil
Thalaivas
as
they
squandered
a
healthy
lead.
Puneri
Paltan
called
the
shots
after
an
initial
lull
as
Pankaj
Mohite
produced
a
sudden
burst
of
speed
and
reduced
Pune’s
deficit
to
just
one
point.

Ajinkya
Pawar
survived
a
do-or-die
raid
for
Tamil
Thalaivas
as
he
thwarted
an
ankle
hold
attempt
from
Sombir
to
help
his
team
keep
a
slender
lead.
He
was
soon
in
action
again
as
dodged
Vishal’s
block
and
Rahul
Chaudhari’s
ankle
hold
to
extend
Thalaivas’
lead
to
six
points.

Pawar
lifted
his
game
to
a
different
level
delivering
for
his
team
with
agile
raids.
He
brought
up
his
first
Super
10
of
his
Pro
Kabaddi
League
career
as
he
put
the
match
to
bed
helping
Tamil
Thalaivas
surge
to
an
unassailable
10-point
lead
with
just
minutes
left
on
the
clock.