Pro Kabaddi 2022: Puneri Paltan vs Tamil Thalaivas, Semifinal 2 - Aslam, Mohit out from the do-or-die clash

Here is all you need to know before the 2nd Semifinal played between Puneri Paltan and Tamil Thalaivas, Pro Kabaddi League 9 game at the NSCI Dome, SVP Stadium in Mumbai.

Tamil Thalaivas and Puneri Paltan have won one game each in the group stage of PKL 9. Thalaivas got the better of Paltan, winning 35-34 in the first clash, while Puneri settled the score with one-all, defeating Thalaivas 35-34. | Photo Credit: PKL

Follow 2nd Semifinal: Puneri Paltan vs Tamil Thalaivas, Live

Follow 1st Semifinal: Jaipur Pink Panthers vs Bengaluru Bulls, Live

PREVIEW

Puneri Paltan

Puneri Paltan qualified for the semi-finals after finishing second in the league stage. During the league stage, Puneri Paltan was involved in two thrilling matches against Tamil Thalaivas. They won one of those games 35-34 and lost the other by the same scoreline. However, they will be confident about winning on Thursday, especially with their attack looking strong with their raiding trio of Aslam Inamdar (138 raid points), Akash Shinde (131 raid points) and Mohit Goyat (120 raid points). They are defensively solid as well with captain Fazel Atrachali leading the way with 51 tackle points. The likes of Sombir (35 tackle points), Abinesh Nadarajan (29 tackle points) and Sanket Sawant (28 tackle points) have also contributed.

Tamil Thalaivas

Meanwhile, Tamil Thalaivas will be making its first-ever semifinal appearance after beating UP Yoddhas in an exhilarating tie-breaker in Eliminator 2. A lot will depend on the young shoulders of Narender as far as the Thalaivas’ raiding department goes. He has amassed 232 raid points this season and has been well-supported by Ajinkya Pawar (123 raid points). Himanshu Singh has been their next-best raider with 45 raid points and needless to say, he’ll be keen on adding to his tally in the semi-final. On the defensive front, Sahil Gulia (54 tackle points) and Sagar (53 tackle points) have been their top performers, while M. Abishek and Mohit have chipped in with 39 and 30 tackle points respectively.

FORM GUIDE

Puneri Paltan

Drew 34-34 with Patna Pirates

Lost 39-41 to Bengaluru Bulls

Lost 37-47 to Gujarat Giants

Beat U Mumba 30-28

Beat Telugu Titans 26-25

Beat Bengal Warriors 27-25

Beat Jaipur Pink Panthers 32-24

Drew 27-27 to Haryana Steelers

Beat Dabang Delhi 43-38

Beat U Mumba 40-31

Lost 34-35 to Tamil Thalaivas

Beat Tamil Thalaivas 35-34

Lost 33-34 to U Mumba

Beat Bengal Warriors 47-23

Beat Haryana Steelers 41-28

Beat Bengaluru Bulls 35-33

Beat Jaipur Pink Panthers 39-32

Beat Telugu Titans 38-25

Lost 39-51 to Gujarat Giants

Beat Dabang Delhi 47-44

Beat Patna Pirates 44-30

Lost 41-45 to UP Yoddhas

PKL 9: Playoffs preview. Who will make it to the final?- We’ve discussed it all in our weekly Pro Kabaddi League live stream. Check out the full stream below:

Tamil Thalaivas

Drew 31-31 vs Gujarat Giants

Lost 22-27 vs Haryana Steelers

Lost 32-39 vs U Mumba

Beat Patna Pirates 33-32

Lost 28-45 to Bengaluru Bulls

Lost 24-41 to UP Yoddhas

Beat Jaipur Pink Panthers 38-27

Beat Dabang Delhi 49-39

Tied 41-41 to Bengal Warriors

Beat Telugu Titans 39-31

Beat Puneri Paltan 35-34

Lost 34-35 to Puneri Paltan

Lost 34-40 to Bengaluru Bulls

Draw 31-31 to Patna Pirates

Beat Bengal Warriors 35-30

Beat U Mumba 20-34

Lost to Jaipur Pink Panthers 41-26

Beat Gujarat Giants 42-39

Drew 37-37 with Dabang Delhi

Beat Telugu Titans 52-24

Beat UP Yoddhas 43-28

Lost 38-61 to Haryana Steelers

Beat UP Yoddhas 36(6)-36(4) in tie-breakers in 2nd Eliminator

HEAD TO HEAD

Played: 8 | Puneri Paltan: 3 | Tamil Thalaivas: 3 | Tied: 2

PLAYERS TO WATCH OUT FOR

Puneri Paltan: Fazel Atrachali

Tamil Thalaivas: Ajinkya Pawar

SQUADS

PUNERI PALTAN

Raiders: Aslam Mustafa Inamdar, Mohit Goyat, Aditya Tushar Shinde, Akash Santosh Shinde, Pankaj Mohite, Saurabh

Defenders: Fazel Atrachali, Sombir, Akash Chaudhary, Badal Taqdir Singh, Abinesh Nadarajan, Sanket Sawant, Alankar Kaluram Patil, Rakesh Bhalle Ram, D Mahindraprasad, Harsh Mahesh Lad, Gaurav Khatri

All-Rounders: Mohammad Esmaeil Nabibakhsh, Govind Gurjar, Balasaheb Shahaji Jadhav

TAMIL THALAIVAS

Raiders: Pawan Kumar Sehrawat [out injured], Ajinkya Ashok Pawar, Sachin, Himanshu Narwal, Himanshu Singh, Narender.

Defenders: Sagar, Ankit, M Abhishek, Ashish, Md. Arif Rabbani, Himanshu, Mohit, Sahil Gulia, Arpit Saroha.

All-Rounders: Visvanath V, Thanushan Laxmamoha, K Abhimanyu

WHEN AND WHERE TO WATCH

The 2nd Semifinals between Puneri Paltan vs Tamil Thalaivas of Pro Kabaddi Season 9 game will be telecast live on the Star Sports Network and Disney+ Hotstar from 8:30 PM onwards on Thursday, December 15.