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The Telugu Titans' wait for their first win of PKL Season 7 continued as they were held to a 20-20 draw against the UP Yoddha in the most dramatic of fashions. Siddharth Desai's last raid of the match seemed to have sealed the deal for the Titans but a comedy of errors in the end saw the Yoddha sneak an unlikely draw.
It was neck and neck for the entire game, which went up and down like a see-saw. There were a number of occasions when the Titans looked like running away with the match but the Yoddha, especially the team's defence stood tall and kept them in the match.
Defenders scored big once again in the match, with both UP corners - Sumit and Nitesh picking up four points each. Abozar Mighani registered four as well but Vishal Bharadwaj, the Titans captain, ended the game with just a point to his name.
Here are the talking points from the game:
Desai brothers off to electric start
The early exchanges of the match saw raiders make merry, with the first tackle point coming in the seventh minute. At the forefront of it were the two Desai brothers of the Telugu Titans - Siddharth and Suraj, who started off strongly.
Siddharth, who had a stellar Season 6, has had a comparatively pale start to the new campaign but showed signs of life early on - taking three points in his first three raids and ending the half with four points - all of which came through different type of skills - toe touch, running toe touch, escape and running hand touch - showcasing his versatility.
Suraj, who is the record holder for the most points on PKL debut, too started off on the front foot, picking up three points - two bonuses and one touch point at the start.
Telugu Titans threaten to break free but UP hold firm
The first half saw Telugu Titans threaten to make up a big gap in the scoreline on a couple of occasions but the Yoddha fought back valiantly - ensuring that the scores remain level at the break and kept the fans at the edge of their seats.
In the sixth minute after the first whistle, the team from the South opened up a 7-3 lead but raid points in do-or-die situations from Srikant Jadhav and Monu Goyat, along with tackles from corners Sumit and Nitesh Kumar saw UP equalize at 7-7 four minutes later.
With four minutes to go in the half, the Titans opened up a four-point lead again at 11-7 but it was the Yoddha who went into the break in the ascendancy, with Amit's super tackle and a couple of points from Srikant ensuring the score stayed at 11-11 after 20 minutes in the match.
Review ensures defensive dominance remains in second half
The start of the second half was a direct opposite of the first, with scoring coming through completely through tackle points. Not even a single raid point came in the first 10 mins after the breather - as the match started to follow the trend of defences standing tall in the tournament so far.
C. Arun scored two tackle points while Farhad got one for the Titans and on the other hand, Amit, Sumit and Nitesh scored a tackle point each for the Yoddha.
With the Titans down to four, Srikant Jadhav looked to have picked up two raid points with a fantastic effort, evading Abozar Mighani's dash, with the referee awarding the points. However, the Titans reviewed the call, which showed that Srikant's hand did not cross the mid-line and the decision was overturned and a point was awarded to the side in yellow.
Dramatic finish sees Titans miss out on win
The match went down to the last raid as Siddharth Desai came in on a do-or-die with the scores tied at 19-19. His aggression saw the UP left corner lose his balance and go off-court, which meant that the Titans gained the point they needed and finally broke their losing streak.
However, in their eagerness, the Titans non-playing staff made a critical error as the team's assistant coach raced onto the match even though the referee had not blown the final whistle. As a result, a technical point was awarded to UP Yoddha, which meant that the match ended 20 points apiece, leaving teams and the audiences stunned.
A shaken Titans side asked for a review but it was to no avail as the original decision stood. With this rather comical ending, the Titans' wait for their first win of the season continues.
Milestones galore
Even before the match started, one of the Titans' biggest players registered a memorable landmark as Abozar Mighani made his 50th appearance in PKL history. Ever since his debut in Season 5, he has been one of the best defenders on the right corner and a player to watch out for.
During the game, Siddharth 'Baahubali' Desai notched up his 250th point in PKL history - which is remarkable given this is just his second season. The fastest to 50 points in PKL history, Siddharth averages nearly 10 points per match and after a phenomenal campaign with U Mumba, he will look to use this milestone as a springboard to return to his old form.
UP's Shrikant Jadhav, who is a former U Mumba player himself, notched up both his 200th touch point and successful raid as he capped off his night with a fine performance - picking up four points.
