IMAGE: Action from the Pro Kabaddi League match between Tamil Thalaivas and Bengal Warriorz in Pune. Photograph: Pro Kabaddi / XMoein Shafaghi and Himanshu dished out superb performances as Tamil Thalaivas thrashed Bengal Warriorz 60-29 in their Pro Kabaddi League match in Pune on Wednesday.
Shafaghi and Himanshu scored Super 10s (13 points each), while defenders Nitesh Kumar (7 points) and Amir Bastami (4 points) also made important contributions for Tamil Thalaivas.
In the other corner, Manjeet bagged 7 points and Chinese Taipei's Chia Ming scored 4 for Bengal Warriorz.
Tamil Thalaivas came out of the blocks quickest with Shafaghi leading the charge for his side in the early exchanges. Tamil Thalaivas' defence also started off well, foiling Maninder Singh's early attacks.
As the first half wore on, Tamil Thalaivas were looking solid and held the lead, even as Manjeet and Pranay Rane fought hard for Bengal Warriorz.
At the 10-minute mark, Sai Prasad scored a 4-point raid, which gave Tamil Thalaivas a 7-point lead, and that was followed up with an ALL OUT. Bengal Warriorz at this point trailed by 10 points.
Tamil Thalaivas had cranked up the intensity and Shafaghi was causing quite a few problems for their opponents. Manjeet went onto complete his High-5 as Bengal Warriorz looked to reduce the deficit before the first 20 minutes were up. But, at the break, Tamil Thalaivas led 25-13.
Tamil Thalaivas continued to dominate in the initial stages of the second half.
Bengal Warriorz brought in Chia Ming, but even he couldn't do much to stop the rampaging opponents.
Five minutes into the second half, Tamil Thalaivas inflicted another ALL OUT and extended their lead by 16 points. Right after, Shafaghi scored a multi-point raid and completed his Super 10.
At the half-hour mark, Tamil Thalaivas led by 20 points, and all the players were scoring well on the day. Himanshu and Tamil Thalaivas scored a third ALL OUT on Bengal Warriorz, who were staring down the barrel of a big defeat.
With four minutes to go, Tamil Thalaivas notched up their half-century for the first time this season, and that was followed up with another ALL OUT inflicted on Bengal Warriorz.
Eventually, Tamil Thalaivas walked off with their best win of the season.
