PKL-12: Puneri Paltan Becomes Second Team to Reach Playoffs After Defeating Tamil Thalaivas

Puneri Paltan defeated Tamil Thalaivas 36–23 in the 78th match of Season 12 of the Pro Kabaddi League (PKL), played on Saturday at the Thyagaraj Indoor Stadium, and became the second team to qualify for the playoffs. Dabang Delhi KC had already secured their place in the top 8 earlier.

For Paltan, Pankaj Mohite (9 points) and captain Aslam Inamdar (7 points) shone in raiding, while Gurdeep (5 points) and Vishal Bhardwaj (4 points) played a key role in defense. Thalaivas suffered defeat mainly because their star raider Arjun Deshwal (6 points) couldn’t find his rhythm, and their defense too failed to support him. In defense, however, Arunthababu (4 points) and Nitesh (3 points) showed some resistance.

Riding on their captain Aslam’s multi-point raid, Paltan made a strong start and took a 3–1 lead within the first three minutes. Soon after, Vishal caught Deshwal, giving Thalaivas an early setback. Pankaj then ousted Nitesh, putting Thalaivas under super tackle pressure. Pankaj followed that up with another two-point raid, pushing the Thalaivas toward an all-out, which Paltan completed to take a commanding 10–1 lead.

After the all-out, Deshwal finally opened his account with a multi-point raid, but Aditya quickly dismissed Nitesh to balance things. After the first quarter, Paltan led 12–3. Post-break, Deshwal scored a bonus, but Pankaj struck again with a double-point raid, restoring a 10-point lead. On the next raid, Arunthababu tackled Pankaj to open Thalaivas’ defense tally. Deshwal then dismissed Gaurav, reducing the deficit to seven, but was caught in the following raid.

Himanshu revived Deshwal, but Aslam immediately dashed him out. Himanshu managed to tackle Pankaj but was himself caught during the raid. At halftime, Paltan led 20–11.

After the break, Arunthababu committed a self-out, putting Thalaivas under super tackle pressure. Vishal then caught Rohit, pushing Thalaivas toward another all-out, but Raunak and Nitesh tackled Pankaj to revive Deshwal.

Thalaivas tried to make a comeback with three consecutive points, but Abinesh’s tackle on Deshwal for the fourth time stopped their momentum. In a do-or-die raid, Pankaj dismissed Nitesh to make it 25–16 after 30 minutes. Kandola then earned two points to start a comeback, but was caught again soon after—though revived by his defense. However, Aslam again sent him off in the next raid.

With three minutes left, Thalaivas faced another super tackle situation. Vaibhav ousted Yogesh to limit Thalaivas to just two points, but Mohite was super-tackled for two points in return. Eventually, the Thalaivas couldn’t avoid another all-out and succumbed to their eighth defeat in 14 matches.

Puneri Paltan, on the other hand, registered their 11th win in 14 matches, securing their berth in the PKL Season 12 playoffs.