Thalaivas pull off last-second comeback against Panthers

IMAGE: Action from the Pro Kabaddi League match between Tamil Thalaivas and Jaipur Pink Panthers. Photograph: PKL

Tamil Thalaivas made a stunning comeback as they pulled off a tie in the dying seconds of the match against the Jaipur Pink Panthers in the Pro Kabaddi League in Hyderabad on Sunday.

The two sides ended the game locked on 30-30 with Sachin top-scoring for the Tamil Thalaivas with 11 points to his name.

For the Jaipur Pink Panthers, Arjun Deshwal scored seven points and Vikash Kandola added six more. The result was also the second time a game has ended in a tie in PKL Season 11 so far.

Jaipur Pink Panthers started off proceedings with skipper Arjun Deshwal picking up the first points. After that, both sides traded blows with equal measure in the early minutes, before Jaipur Pink Panthers pulled into a 2-point lead.

Sachin landed the game's first Super Tackle on Arjun Deshwal to bring the Tamil Thalaivas back on level terms.

As the first half progressed, Sachin led the charge for the Tamil Thalaivas while Arjun Deshwal, Vikash Kandola and Ankush Rathee were making the most number of inroads for Jaipur Pink Panthers.

The experienced Surjeet Singh then inflicted an ALL OUT on Tamil Thalaivas, which gave Jaipur Pink Panthers a 6-point lead at the 10-minute mark.

From then on, Jaipur Pink Panthers began to consolidate their lead, and went into the half-time break with 21-16 lead.

After the break, it was Chandran Ranjith who started the comeback for Tamil Thalaivas.

However, Jaipur Pink Panthers continued to lead the contest with captain Arjun Deshwal, along with Vikash Kandola and Ankush Rathee having the biggest impact.

Jaipur Pink Panthers were able to keep Tamil Thalaivas at bay for the majority of second half, and protected their lead quite well.

For Tamil Thalaivas, Sachin gave it his all to bring the team back into the contest in the final phase of play.

And just as it looked like the contest would go the way of Jaipur Pink Panthers, it was Nitesh Kumar and the defenders, along with Sachin, who clinched the tie for Tamil Thalaivas.