The Tamil Thalaivas started their Pune leg with renewed energy and came out all guns blazing under their new head coach Ashan Kumar in the Pro Kabaddi League Season 9, beating Jaipur Pink Panthers 38-27 at the Shree Shiv Chhatrapati Sports Complex, here on Friday.
Narender put up a superb performance with 13 points in the match and helped Thalaivas register the win.The Tamil Thalaivas got off to a stupendous start as they inflicted an All Out in the 6th minute and took a massive lead at 12-1.
V. Ajith Kumar tried to fight back for the Panthers, but the Thalaivas' defender M. Abishek stood tall as his team continued to extend its lead.The team from Tamil Nadu tackled Arjun Deshwal in the 14th minute and attained a 12-point lead at 17-5.
The defenders were backed up brilliantly by Narender's raids as the Thalaivas led 20-8 at the end of the first half.Narender tackled Sunil Kumar and helped the Thalaivas inflict an All Out in the opening minute of the second half.
Defender Himanshu also joined the party as the Thalaivas took a 16-point lead at 27-11 in the 28th minute.Deshwal effected a fantastic raid, but the Panthers couldn't find a way to pick up points consistently. Narender continued to carry out raids as the Thalaivas dominated the match at 32-16 in the 35th minute.
The Panthers inflicted an All Out in the 37th minute, but the Tamil Nadu side still held a big lead at 32-23. The Thalaivas kept raging on and eventually closed out a comprehensive victory.