It was a blockbuster opening game that saw Tamil Thalaivas secure a 38-35 win over the home side Telugu Titans at the Vishwanadh Sports Club here on Friday night.
That boy was Nitesh Kumar, now one of the brightest defensive prospects in the Pro Kabaddi League, and the rising star of Tamil Thalaivas aiming to take his team to glory in the upcoming 12th season, starting August 29.
Former winners U Mumba delivered a dominant display against Tamil Thalaivas in Match 106 of Season 11 of the Pro Kabaddi League, winning 47-31 in the Badminton Hall of the Balewadi Sports Complex here on Wednesday.
Substitute Masanamuthu and Iranian Moein Shafaghi excelled as the Tamil Thalaivas returned to winning ways after a brilliant performance that helped them beat the UP Yoddhas 40-26 in Match 77 of Season 11 of the Pro Kabaddi League (PKL) at the Noida Indoor Stadium here on Tuesday.
The youngster will now enter his third season with the Tamil Thalaivas, having made his debut with the side in season 9. The side will kick start their campaign against the Telugu Titans on the first match of October 19.
Tamil Thalaivas started their game with utter composure, aggression at the right instances and ruled the first half. Rahul Chaudhari rolled back the years with his fine raiding, reminiscent of his days at the lead raider for the Telugu Titans.
Pardeep Narwal became the first player to cross 1,000 raid points in Pro Kabaddi League history. His 26 points exposed the problems in the Tamil Thalaivas side who looked answerless, especially in defence, against a bottom-placed Patna unit.
Ajith Kumar got to his Super 10 in the final minutes and ensured the Thalaivas lost with a margin less than seven points but coach E Bhaskaran will be left with a lot to wonder as his side suffered a fifth straight loss.
Pawan Sehrawat secured a Super 10 (17 raid points) as the defending champions Bengaluru Bulls clinched their first win at home this season against a disjointed Tamil Thalaivas unit
The match was billed as an encounter between Rahul Chaudhari and Pardeep Narwal, who are the two most successful raiders of Pro Kabaddi League history.
