Hello and welcome to Sportstar’s coverage of the Pro Kabaddi semifinal fixture between Puneri Paltan and Tamil Thalaivas at NSCI Dome, NVP Stadium, in Mumbai on 15th December, Thursday.
Follow: Jaipur Pink Paltan vs Puneri Paltan PKL 9 Final, Live
The second encounter is underway. Scores will read as Puneri vs Tamil:
FULL-TIME UPDATE: Puneri Paltan beat Tamil Thalaivas 39-37
39-37 Fazel Atrachali comes in the last raid with just 11 seconds left on the clock, and he stands right at the midline to ensure Paltan’s victory from here. And there we go! Puneri beat Tamil by two points to enter the final of PKL 9.
39-36 Mohammad Nabibakhsh gives his point to Narender as he knows there is not much left for the Thalaivas to do from here.
39-35 Narender takes the touchpoint of Sanket Sawant with just under a minute left.
39-34 An error from Himanshu as Akash Shinde goes back with a point with just over a minute left on the clock.
38-34 Mohammad Nabibakhsh tackles Ajinkya Pawar to extend the lead by four points.
37-34 Akash gets a bonus, but he has been dashed out.
36-33 An error from Fazel as Narender jumps over him to take him out.
36-32 Narender gets a toe touch on Gaurav Khatri.
36-31 A bonus for Narender, but he has been ushered out and Puneri gets an all-out at a very crucial point.
33-30 Pankaj Mohite goes in the raid and takes two out of the three defenders.
31-30 Ajinkya Pawar goes in the raid, and the defence was super solid to catch him in the chain.
TIME-OUT!
30-30 Pankaj Mohite. gets a tag on Himanshu.
29-30 Narender goes in the raid and gets a tag on in-form Akash Shinde.
29-29 A bonus for Ajinkya Pawar to restore parity.
29-28 A multi-point raid for Pankaj Mohite to remove Mohit and Sahil Gulia in this raid.
27-28 M Abhishek goes in and touches M Abhishek.
26-28 Narender touches Gaurav Khatri within a flash.
26-27 Pankaj Mohite gets a bonus.
25-27 Ajinkya Pawar goes in the raid and removes Sanket Sawant with a running hand touch.
TIME-OUT!
25-26 A bonus for Akash Shinde in the do-or-die raid.
24-26 Ajinkya Pawar goes in the raid and comes back with a touchpoint of Abinesh Nadarajan.
24-25 A bonus for Ajinkya Pawar.
24-24 Mohammad Nabibakhsh shines in the defence too as he pounces on Narender to tackle him for another point to restore parity.
23-24 Pankaj Mohite goes in the raid and Sachin surrenders, which means that Puneri successfully INFLICTS AN ALL-OUT on Tamil.
20-24 A bonus for Sachin.
20-23 Mohammad Nabibaksh goes in the raid and Himanshu tries to dash him out, the refs gave the verdict in the favour of Nabibaksh. Tamil reviews this one, but they lose the review as the verdict remains the same.
19-23 Ajinkya Pawar goes in the do-or-die raid, but Gaurav Khatri tackles him to reduce Tamil with only two-man on the mat.
18-23 Akash Shinde goes in the do-or-die raid and touches Arpit Saroha for a point.
17-23 Himanshu goes in the raid and tries for a bonus, and right at the moment Pankaj Mohite makes an error, going for an ankle hold, but Himanshu escapes back with a point.
17-22 An error from Sahil Gulia now as he gave his touch to Pankaj Mohite, who came in the do-or-die raid.
16-22 Narender goes in the do-or-die raid, and the defence came good on him and tackle him for a point.
15-22 Akash Shinde goes in the raid, but Sahil Gulia rushes to him and blocks him to dash him out of the mat.
TIME-OUT!
15-21 Another SUPER TACKLE executed by the three-man defence of Tamil as this time it was Arpit Saroha who jumped on Pankaj Mohite to get two points!
15-19 Himanshu Singh goes in the do-or-die raid but has been ushered off by Abinesh Nadarajan.
14-19 A SUPER TACKLE led by Himanshu who charges on Pankaj Mohite and hold him for two points.
14-17 Pankaj Mohite single-handedly kept Puneri in the game here. he goes into the raid and touches captain Ajinkya Pawar.
13-17 An usual acceleration from Ajinkya Pawar, who goes in the raid and touches Fazel Atrachali for a point.
13-16 Pankaj Mohite picks up Himanshu this time.
12-16 Narender has been dashed out by Gaurav Khatri as he pushed himself on him at the very right time.
11-16 A multi-point raid for Pankaj Mohite, who came and touch two defenders - M. Abishek and Sahil Gulia.
9-16 Another unsuccessful raid from Akash Shinde as Sahil Gulia tackles him, yet again.
9-15 Some resistance from Fazel, but Narender touches him to INFLICT FIRST ALL-OUT on the Paltan!
9-12 Narender shins in the defence as he tackles Aditya Shinde this time to leave Puneri with only their captain - Fazel on the mat.
9-11 Akash Shinde goes in the raid, and Sahil Gulia pounces on him to thump him down, and later the whole defence came good on him to tackle him for a point. Puneri, however, reviews it asking for jersey pulling but the verdict of one tackle point to Tamil remains the same.
9-10 Himanshu goes in the raid and picks up Gaurav Khatri via a running hand touch.
9-9 Second SUPER TACKLE from the defence of Puneri to catch and hold Narender.
7-9 M. Abishek tackles Pankaj Mohite to extend the lead by two points.
7-8 Ajinkya Pawar goes in the raid and gets a tag on dangerous-looking Mohammad Nabibaksh.
7-7 Another point for Nabi in the raid as he takes the touchpoint o Mohit.
6-7 First point for Pawar in the raid as he takes the touchpoint of Sanket Sawant.
6-6 Nabibaksh comes in the raid, and an error from Sahil Gulia makes sure that he goes back with his touchpoint along with a bonus to restore parity.
4-6 A late dash by Pankaj Mohite on Narender resulted in a SUPER TACKLE for Puneri!
2-6 Ajinkya Pawar tackles Akash Shinde to extend the lead by four points.
2-5 Narender goes in the raid, and a perfect and timely dubki from him resulted in more than one point for sure. The refs have given two touchpoints. Tamil reviews this, asking for a bonus plus three touchpoints. The review, however, is unsuccessful for Tamil as the verdict of two points to Tamil remains the same.
2-3 Mohammad Nabibaksh goes out of bounds while raiding.
2-2 Akash Shinde goes in the raid and touches Mohit for a point to level the score.
1-2 Narender goes in the raid, and Sanket Sawant pounces on him to dash him out, but in the process goes out of bounds. A bonus along with a point of Sanket in return for Narenders; a point for Tamil to start the game.
Tamil Thalaivas won the toss and chose to raid first.
Jaipur Pink Panthers beat Bengaluru Bulls 45-25
The winner of this game will face JAIPUR PINK PANTHERS in the final of PKL season 9 on the 17th of December.
Puneri Paltan: 2nd place; 80 points
Tamil Thalaivas: 5th place; 66 points
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.
SQUAD ANALYSIS: Tamil Thalaivas is going with a tried and tested seven for this clash against Puneri Paltan. The Paltan, meanwhile, will not have the services of Aslam Inamdar or Mohit Goyat due to injury. This sees Nabibakhsh back in the starting 7 with team looking a little more heavy on the defence in this game.
Puneri Paltan: Fazel Atrachali
Tamil Thalaivas: Ajinkya Pawar
Puneri Paltan: Abinesh Nadarajan, Akash Shinde, Sanket Sawant, Fazel Atrachali, Mohammad Nabibakhsh, Gaurav Khatri, Pankaj Mohite
Tamil Thalaivas: Narender, Ajinkya Pawar, Arpit Saroha, Mohit, Abishek, Sahil Gulia, Himanshu
Played: 8 | Puneri Paltan: 3 | Tamil Thalaivas: 3 | Tied: 2
Beat Jaipur Pink Panthers 32-24
Drew 27-27 to Haryana Steelers
Beat Jaipur Pink Panthers 39-32
Lost 22-27 vs Haryana Steelers
Beat Jaipur Pink Panthers 38-27
Lost to Jaipur Pink Panthers 41-26
Lost 38-61 to Haryana Steelers
Beat UP Yoddhas 36(6)-36(4) in tie-breakers in 2nd Eliminator
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.
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
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.
SQUADS
PUNERI PALTAN
TAMIL THALAIVAS
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.
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