Hyderabad, Dec 3 (IANS): The Tamil Thalaivas' skipper Ajinkya Pawar led by example as his side produced a scintillating display to defeat the Telugu Titans by a scoreline of 52-24 in the Pro Kabaddi League (PKL) Season 9 at the Gachibowli Indoor Stadium here on Saturday.
Ajinkya Pawar finished the game with 20 points of his own while Narender added 10 more to the cause, leading the Tamil Thalaivas to a massive win.
It was a cautious start with both the Telugu Titans and the Tamil Thalaivas going at each other, trading points in the early exchanges, not allowing either side to get a hold of proceedings.
On the five-minute mark, the Tamil Thalaivas though sneaked ahead, leading by 6-3. Captain Ajinkya Pawar, Sahil Gulia and Narender made some telling contributions for the Tamil Thalaivas.
The Ajinkya Pawar-led side started to consolidate their position from then on in, getting an 8-point lead at one stage before the Telugu Titans' K. Hanumanthu started to chip away at the lead, with some impressive raids.
Soon enough though, the Tamil Thalaivas' defensive got their act going, with M. Abhishek and Mohit standing tall, helping them storm into a 7-point lead.
Before the end of the first half, Ajinkya Pawar helped inflict an All-Out on the Telugu Titans and in the process brought up his Super 10. At the break, the Tamil Thalaivas led by 26-16 and were firmly in the box seat.
After the breather, both sets of players took their time to get going, but it was the Tamil Thalaivas' skipper who was leading from the front with an incredible Super Raid, that took out five players, giving Ajinkya Pawar and co a bigger advantage to work with.
Abhishek Singh landed a three-point raid right after, but with just under ten minutes to go, the Tamil Thalaivas had a 16-point lead.
Ajinkya inflicted another All-Out on the Telugu Titans while Narender joined the party as well, pushing the Tamil Thalaivas toward the half-century with less than five minutes to go.
Soon enough, the fifty-point mark was breached, and the Tamil Thalaivas eventually ran away as comfortable winners on the night, much to the joy of their fans.