UP Yoddhas ride on Bhavani Rajput’s masterclass in massive 16-point win over Tamil Thalaivas

UP Yoddhas left the home fans grinning after they secured a very impressive 40-24 victory over Tamil Thalaivas in Match 69 of PKL 11 at the Noida Indoor Stadium on Friday. It was a Super 10 from Bhavani Rajput that left the spectators on the edge of their seats and he was ably supported by his teammates in what was a complete performance from the team. For Tamil Thalaivas, young Nitesh Kumar was a bright spark with a High 5 to his name.

A strategic approach from both teams defined the first half of the match as UP Yoddhas and Tamil Thalaivas’ raiders took the game to the Do-Or-Die raids. In the 10th minute, however, the tide shifted when Vishal Chahal executed a successful raid, eliminating Sumit from the opposition. This breakthrough set the tone for a more aggressive phase in the half.

UP Yoddhas initially rode on the raiding prowess of Bharat – who got Anuj Gawade off the mat – as the side began to take an early lead over Tamil Thalaivas but not for long. Around the 17-minute mark, the intensity peaked with successive successful raids as Sachin eliminated Bhavani Rajput, while Bharat took out Amir Hossein Bastami as the score read 13-13 at the end of the first half.

It was in the second half that UP Yoddhas upped the ante with the win on their minds. Two minutes into the second half, they inflicted the All-Out on Tamil Thalaivas. This was the start of an impressive period of play for the home team as Bhavani Rajput in raid and Hitesh in defence took the game to their opponents.

An unsuccessful raid by Sachin brought up a well-earned High 5 for Hitesh. This gave UP Yoddhas incentive to push for another All-Out on Tamil Thalaivas, which was eventually inflicted after an excellent raid by Bhavani to get Abhishek Manokaran and Nitesh Kumar.

Having taken a substantial lead, the onus was on the home side to close out the game. Bhavani completed his Super 10 with another two-point raid as they closed out a much-needed victory by a massive difference of 16 points.

Top Performers

Tamil Thalaivas

Best Raider - Vishal Chahal (6 raid points)

Best Defender - Nitesh Kumar (5 tackle points)

UP Yoddhas

Best Raider - Bhavani Rajput (10 raid points)

Best Defender - Hitesh (6 tackle points)

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