Pro Kabaddi League 2022 Eliminator 2: Tamil Thalaivas beat UP Yoddhas in first-ever tie-breaker, to face Puneri Paltan in semifinal 2

Pro Kabaddi

At the Dome, NSCI SVP Stadium, here on Tuesday, the Tamil Thalaivas defeated the UP Yoddhas 6-4 in the tiebreaker (teams were tied 36-36 at the end of regulation). This victory put them in the semifinals. The undisputed heroes of the Thalaivas' victory were the raiding team of Narender (13 points) and Ajinkya Pawar (10 points). The Thalaivas were the first side this season to win the toss and decide to raid, and a close first half ensued. As they quickly built a 4-0 lead, it appeared that the choice had been made with a strategy in mind. Narender's raids were expertly complemented by a strong defence. Throughout the first half, the raider persisted in being a threat, consistently recording touch points to keep the Yoddhas exhausted.

The Thalaivas' dream of lifting the #vivoProKabaddi trophy continues _ _

After being tied at 36-36, the Thalaivas took the game away 4-6 in the tie-breaker#FantasticPanga #UPvCHE #vivoPKLPlayoffs #vivoPKL2022Playoffs pic.twitter.com/HGyoMHHKDL

— ProKabaddi (@ProKabaddi) December 13, 2022

The Yoddhas' Pardeep Narwal and Surender Gill combination struggled, scoring just five points combined in the first half. With the Yoddhas down to three, it took a SUPER TACKLE by Ashu Singh on Ajinkya Pawar to prevent an all-out. But just before the half was up, Narender returned, stopping Sandeep Narwal and then Gurdeep to prevent the Yoddhas from going all out. The Thalaivas were in the lead 16-14 at halftime. With their first ALL OUT of the second half, the Thalaivas quickly took the lead, 19-15, against the Yoddhas. The Yoddhas rallied back, and Gill in particular began scoring frequently.However, the Thalaivas maintained their composure, adding just enough points to keep the Yoddhas at a safe distance.

The two teams were only three points apart with five minutes remaining, and the tension was evident. With three left, Pardeep Narwal reemerged and eliminated M. Himanshu and Abishek, putting the Thalaivas in danger of going all out. The Yoddhas obtained their first ALL OUT of the game with just over two minutes remaining to tie the score at 33 each. Narwal comes up with a SUPER RAID with just a few seconds left to give the Yoddhas a two-point advantage. The Thaialvas came back, however, with Pawar scoring one point for them before a tackle point on Narwal with 15 seconds left brought the score even and forced a tiebreaker. The Thalaivas prevailed in a nail-biting back-and-forth tiebreaker 6-4 to win the match and advance to Thursday's Semifinal matchup against Puneri Paltan.