PKL History: Ajay Thakur's 2-point buzzer raid helps Tamil Thalaivas snatch victory from the jaws of defeat versus Gujarat Fortune Giants

By Vinay Chhabria

Modified Aug 12, 2019 18:17 IST

Tamil Thalaivas had defeated Gujarat Fortune Giants when the two teams met for the first time ever

Four new franchises joined the Pro Kabaddi League in the fifth edition, expanding the number of teams from 8 to 12. Of the four new teams, the Ahmedabad-based Gujarat Fortune Giants emerged as the most dominant one while the Chennai-based Tamil Thalaivas disappointed the most.

When these two teams met in an Interzone match in the 2017 edition of the competition, the kabaddi fans expected it to be a lopsided affair. And, Gujarat Fortune Giants had built a 10-point lead heading into the final 4 minutes of the match.

They had inflicted 2 all outs on the Ajay Thakur-led franchise. Sachin had completed his Super 10 while Fazel Atrachali led the defensive unit with a High 5. On the other side, only Ajay Thakur and K. Prapanjan were troubling the Gujarat Fortune Giants.

Thus, in the 36th minute, it was clear that the Thalaivas will now try to get one point from this encounter by reducing the score difference under 7. Tamil Thalaivas took a timeout when the scoreboard read 34-24.

Looking at the way the Tamil Thalaivas performed after that timeout, it looked like their coach had given them a special formula to succeed and overcome the Gujarat Fortune Giants. The Thalaivas did not concede a single point in the last 4 minutes and scored 11 points!

K. Prapanjan started off this heist with a touchpoint, and Gujarat's Rohit Gulia executed two empty raids in order to kill time. Ajay Thakur then scored a touchpoint in his quick raid before the defence tackled Sachin in a do-or-die raid.

Though the difference between the two teams reduced, Gujarat continued their obsession with empty raids. Soon, Thakur's heroics cleaned up the Gujarat Fortune Giants' half and brought the score difference to 3. After the all-out, Sachin again came in Tamil Thalaivas' half to waste time.

Ajay Thakur went in to raid next and grabbed a quick touchpoint. Manpreet Singh asked for a timeout with the scores being 34-32 in favor of Gujarat and most importantly, there was only one minute left.

Thalaivas cut the difference to 1 by hunting down Sachin. In the buzzer raid, Ajay Thakur got the better of both the corner defenders and led his team to a famous win.