Pro Kabaddi League 2017: Ajay Thakur helps Tamil Thalaivas pip Gujarat Fortunegiants; Patna Pirates roll on

New Delhi: Ajay Thakur produced a remarkable performance in the last five minutes as Tamil Thalaivas edged past Gujarat Fortunegiants 35-34 in a thrilling match of the Pro Kabaddi League (PKL) in New Delhi on Tuesday. Till the last couple of minutes, Thalaivas didn’t look like winning the match but Thakur scored three raid points in the last minute to lead his team to victory. Thakur ended with 13 points and was supported by Prapanjan who contributed nine points. Sachin scored 11 points for Gujarat Fortunegiants. [caption id=“attachment_4085701” align=“alignleft” width=“380”]  Ajay Thakur scored three raid points in the last minute. Image credit: Twitter/@tamilthalaivas[/caption] Gujarat are top of the table in Zone A with 61 points from 16 matches. Tamil Thalaivas are bottom of the table in Zone B with 28 points from 13 matches. The first few minutes of the match saw both the teams exchanging raid and tackle points. Prapanjan’s super raid in the fourth minute gave Tamil Thalaivas 5-3 lead. Sachin then scored two points in two minutes to give Gujarat Fortunegiants a slender 6-5 lead after six minutes. It was one-way traffic in the next couple of minutes as Gujarat piled on the points and inflicted an all out in the 11th minute to lead 13-6. Thakur got into the act for Tamil Thalaivas after that and scored two points in two minutes as they trailed 9-16 in the 15th minute. Both teams’ defence had a quiet first half as they managed just five tackle points. Thakur and Prapanjan were the main scorers for Tamil Thalaivas in the first half. For Gujarat Fortunegiants, Sachin led the scoring charts in the first half as they led 20-13. The Fortunegiants began the second half strongly and scored three points in three minutes to lead 23-13 after 23 minutes. Another all out was inflicted by Gujarat in the 25th minute as they led 27-15. Tamil Thalaivas never looked like threatening Gujarat’s domination in the second half. All they could do was to reduce the defeat margin. After 30 minutes it was 30-20 in Gujarat’s favour. However, the Thalaivas turned the match on its head in the last five minutes. They were trailing by massive 10 points as the score was 33-23 in Gujarat’s favour. Thakur then scored two raid points in two minutes as Thalaivas trailed 28-34 in the 38th minute. An all out was inflicted in the same minute as Thalaivas trailed 31-34. It was Thakur who scored three raid points in the last minute as Thalaivas won 35-34. Patna Pirates edge Dabang Delhi Dabang Delhi made a valiant attempt of a comeback but fell short as they lost 34-36 against Patna Pirates in Inter Zone Challenge Week of Pro Kabaddi Season 5. Delhi trailed by 12 points in the early stages but staged a fight back but Patna showed experience and composure to held on to victory. Pardeep Narwal scored 14 points to continue his excellent form in the season. Delhi’s wretched home form continued as they crashed to fourth successive defeat in front of their home crowd. Patna Pirates remain top of the table in Zone B with 65 points from 18 matches. Dabang Delhi are still bottom of the table with 31 points after 16 matches. Pirates began the first half in rampant manner as Pardeep scored with a four-point raid in the first minute. Patna were relentless as they inflicted an all out in the third minute to lead 10-0. Delhi scored their first point in the 5th minute to trail 1-11. The home side got points in board as Meraj Sheykh and Rohit Baliyan got raid points as they trailed 6-13 in the 13th minute. Pirates forced a super tackle in the 14th minute to lead 15-6. The hosts came back in the match as they inflicted an all out in the 16th minute to trail 11-16. Dabang Delhi recovered after a disastrous start as they ended the first half tailing 13-18. Pardeep scored seven raid points for Patna Pirates. Abolfazl scored with a two-point raid in the 23rd minute as Dabang Delhi trailed 16-20. Pardeep attained yet another super 10 as Patna Pirates led 21-18 after 34 minutes. Delhi took the lead for the first time in the match in the 27th minute as they inflicted an all out. Patna came back to lead 27-24 but Dabang Delhi forced a super tackle to cut the lead to one point in the 32nd minute. Hosts forced another super tackle in the 33rd minute to level the match at 28-28. Every time Patna took lead Delhi forced super tackles as they forced a third in five minutes to tie at 30-30 in the 35th minute. Patna Pirates inflicted an all out in the 38th minute to lead 36-31 and held on their nerve in the last few minutes to win 36-34.