Pro Kabaddi Eliminators: Tamil Thalivas defeat UP Yoddhas on tie breaker to reach semifinals of PKL9
PKL9 has never been short on action, this season we have witnessed wild things happen on the mat. But a tie breaker was something that nobody had expected. And that is what it went down to during the second eliminator between Tamil Thavlias and UP Yoddhas.
It was a very competitive match between the two sides. On one team we had the record breaker Pardeep Narwal and his UP Yoddhas. While on the other hand was the dark horse of PKL9 Tamil Thalivas.
Hence everyone knew that it was going to be a very closely contested game. And nobody was disappointed with the ferocity in which both the teams contested.
Tamil Thalivas were looking the most favorable side to win the game, given they had a slender lead going into the last 30 seconds of the game. With figuratively one raid remaining, UP Yoddhas sent their best raider for the task. And Pardeep Narwal delivered with a super raid of 3 points to almost win the game for his side.
That was not enough though and the match ended at 36-a piece at end of 40 minutes.
Hence a tie breaker was in order.
Tie breaker between Tamil Thalivas and UP Yoddhas
The tie breaker is a unique aspect of pro kabaddi. It is played when two team tie a game in the knockout stages. In this format of the game, both teams are allowed to do five raids, and who so ever collects most points wins.
In the tie breaker, both the team were inseparable after the first four raids. Both Tamil Thalivas and UP Yoddhas had 2 points each. But the game changed in the third raid of Thalivas when they were allowed to take a bonus.
It was a brainfade moment by the defenders of UP Yoddhas that cost them the game. They lost a point in defending and their raider got tackled too, taking the lead to 4-2.
In the final raid the difference between the teams was 6-3, and Surender Gill was tasked to do a multi-point raid. Thalivas defense knew the reputation of Gill, and hence sacrificed a point to win the game.
The match ended with Thalivas winning it by a margin of 6-4 in tie breaker.
This was the first time that Thalivas were playing a playoff and now they will be going into the semis for the first time as well.
Narender Kandola was once again the hero of the game for them. He picked up a total of 13 points throughout the game to win the game for his team. He will be eyeing a maiden title in the next game when they meet against Puneri Paltan.
