Mohali, October 2: Punjab Thunder turned in a sterling performance dominating from start to finish to outplay United Singhs 71-51 and move into the second position on the points table at the Wave World Kabaddi League on Thursday. As the first four-day kabaddi fiesta got underway in Mohali, Punjab Thunder showed that their recent resurgence has not been a flash in the pan.

Lakha of Punjab Thunder trying to stop Lovepreet Singh of United Singhs

It was Punjab Thunder’s fifth win in 11 matches and put alongside the tie they had with leaders Khalsa Warriors in Ludhiana, they now have 11 points, moving ahead of Lahore Lions and United Singhs, who have 10 each.

Punjab Thunder was on an overdrive from the start as they routed their opponents in a one-sided clash. They led from the very first quarter and did not ease the pressure till the end.

For Punjab Thunder their stoppers and raiders showed excellent form as they outplayed United Singhs. Punjab Thunder’s Sultan Singh and Talwinder Singh Tinda made United Singhs’ defence work hard with their successful raids. The captain of Punjab Thunder, Yadwinder was outstanding in the defense as the team fired on all four cylinders.

SSP, Indermohan Singh Bhatti and acclaimed international cyclist was the Chief Guest for the day.

United Singhs won the toss and selected to go for raid but it was Punjab Thunder who found the momentum early as Rana Alishan stopped Ravi Kumar from United Singh with a fine tackle.

Sandeep Singh Sandhu, captain of United Singhs, did his best in defence for his team, but was unable to contain the rival raids. In contrast Skipper Yadvender and Rana Alishan were in fine form in defence and that gave Punjab Thunder a big advantage.

By the end of the first quarter Punjab Thunder was 18-11 up.

Into the second quarter Punjab Thunder were again far superior. However, United’s Sandeep Singh Sandhu, the top stopper of Wave WKL managed to grab two points for his team as they attempted to narrow the gap. But Yadvender and Lakha Cheema gave Punjab Thunders a good lead by the end of the first half at 34-24.

Third quarter began with some aggressive raids by both the teams. Sultan Singh from Punjab Thunders and Gagandeep Singh Nagra of United Singhs were the most successful raiders in this quarter. Skipper Sandeep Singh Sandhu, Jagga Khera of United Singhs, Rana Alishan and  Lakha Cheema of Punjab Thunders were the successful stoppers in this quarter on either side, but Punjab Thunder maintaind the edge they had built up and ended the penultimate quarter 49-39.

Into the final quarter, Punjab Thunder added more muscle as their star raiders Sultan Singh and Talwinder Singh were in full flow. Sultan led from the front with his 24 successful raids, while Yadvender and Lakha were sturdy in defence and United Singhs began drooping and fell behind further to lose 51-71.

Team position after Match No 39:

Khalsa Warriors will play against Yo Yo Tigers in the second match for the day.

Wave World Kabaddi League fixture next week matches scheduled in Mohali is:

Tags: Mohali, Punjab Thunder, Sports, United Singhs, Wave WKL, Wave World Kabaddi League, WKL, World Kabaddi League