Match 18 of the Star Sports Pro Kabaddi saw hosts Telugu Titans hammer Bengal Warriors 35-18 to clinch their 1st win of the campaign at the Gachibowli Indoor Stadium, Hyderabad. Their star raider Rahul Chaudhari was seen in sublime form as he gathered his 19th Super 10 in the Pro Kabaddi history to help the Titans register their much awaited 1st win.
The Titans’ stormed to a 4-0 lead in the early stages of the first half through a fine display from their raiders, Rahul Chaudhari and Nilesh Salunke combined well to score touch points over the Warriors’ defense. Rahul Chaudhari, who is still feeling the effect of the shoulder injury he picked up before the start of the tournament, continued to score touch points in the early stages, giving the Titans a 6-0 lead over the Warriors who went down to just a man before getting anything on the scoreboard! Monu Goyat scored a bonus point before getting caught by an alert Titans’ defense and thus leading to their 1st All Out of the match!
Nitin Madane and Mahendra Rajput tried to bring some pride to the scoreboard, however, Rahul Chaudhari and Co continued to pile pressure on the Warriors till the buzzer raid of the first half. Sandeep Dhull was instrumental in the left corner for the Titan's, scoring 4 tackle points in the first half and thus restricting the Warriors to just 2 raid points in the first half.
HT: Telugu Titans 15-8 Bengal Warriors
The Warriors started the second half on a more positive note, slowed down the speed of the game considerably by playing down on the do-or-die raids strategy to a good effect. The Warriors’ defense made it a 4-point game by the end of 5 minutes in the second half, however, the Titans’ K. Prapanjan scored two touch points in the subsequent raid and took away the momentum from the Bengal-based franchise.
Rahul Chaudhari completed the second all out of the match on the Warriors via a magnificent super raid, tagging 3 Bengal players before racing back to his half to make the scoreline 26-13 in the Titans’ favor. Monu Goyat tried to reduce the deficit by two quick successful raids, but Rahul Chaudhari continued to score points at will to complete his 19th Super 10 in the Pro Kabaddi history, the highest by any player!
The youngster Sandeep Dhull went on to make 8 tackle points in this match and just missed to break the record set by the Bulls’ Surender Nada of gathering 10 tackle points in a single encounter. With this win, the Titans’ moved up to the 7th spot in the standings with just a point adrift from the Eagles, while the Warriors slipped to the last spot.
FT: Telugu Titans 35-18 Bengal Warriors
