Pune, Nov 16 (IANS): The Patna Pirates and Tamil Thalaivas played out a thrilling contest at the Pro Kabaddi League (PKL) Season 9, but both sides were happy to settle for a 33-33 tie in the end at the Shree Shivchhatrapati Sports Complex, Balewadi, here on Wednesday.

While raider Narender emerged as the best player for the Thalaivas with 16 points, raider Sachin notched 14 points for the Pirates.

The two sides played out a neck-and-neck contest and were locked at 5-5 in the 5th minute. However, the Thalaivas tackled Sachin, soon after, and inched ahead at 7-5. But Pirates' all-rounder Mohammadreza Shadloui Chiyaneh also showcased top form and helped his side level the scores at 7-7.

Thereafter, Chiyaneh tackled Ajinkya Pawar and Narender in quick succession as the Pirates took the lead at 10-8 in the 12th minute. However, Ajinkya Pawar got on a roll and picked up a flurry of raid points to help the Thalaivas put their noses in front at 13-12 in the 18th minute.

But Pirates' Sachin pulled the momentum towards his side with a few raid points as the Patna side inflicted an All-Out at the stroke of half-time to take a massive lead at 20-14.

Narender effected a couple of raid points in the opening minutes of the second half, but the Pirates still held the lead at 23-17 in the 26th minute. However, Narender continued to shine as he caught out Neeraj Kumar and Chiyaneh to help the Thalaivas reach within touching distance of the Pirates' score at 22-25.

But Sachin caught Himanshu Singh soon after to ensure that the Pirates continued to have a stronghold of the match at 27-22 in the 30th minute. However, the Thalaivas kept fighting and eventually carried out an All-Out to level the scores at 30-30 in the 37th minute.

However, Rohit Gulia and Sachin effected raids to help the Pirates inch ahead yet again at 33-31. But moments later, the side from Tamil Nadu tackled Gulia and levelled the scores at 33-33. Thereafter, both sides played cautiously and were happy to settle for a tie.