The 19th match of Pro Kabaddi season 4 was a Southern Derby between Telugu Titans and the Bengaluru Bulls. Placed seventh and fifth respectively on the table, both teams were hungry for success. The imposing brilliance of Rohit Kumar and the Titans inability to clean up the Bulls quickly send the hosts hurtling to a 28-30 defeat. It was a third victory for the team from Bengaluru, while the Titans slipped to their fourth defeat in five matches.
Rohit Kumar has been instrumental in giving Bengaluru an attacking face this season. He wasted no time in stamping his authority over the Titans defense, snatching two early points for the Bulls.
The Titans have strengthened their defenses this season – Sandeep Narwal on the right and Sandeep Dhull on the left are allowing Jasmer Singh plenty of freedom to express himself in the middle.
The contest was turning out to be fascinating and even. The score was 7-7 with seven minutes of the first half remaining to be played.
The match seemed to take its first significant turn when Vinod Kumar (Veeni) of the Bulls took a couple of points. Bengaluru won seven of the next eight points including an all out bonus to turn the tide in their favour.
Dhull had been trying in vain to tackle Rohit and another failed attempt saw the Bulls take a six-point lead, seconds before the break. Prapanjan clawed one back for the hosts, taking them into the halftime break at 11-16.
Half Time: Telugu Titans 11 – 16 Bengaluru Bulls
Rana Daggubati, Rakulpreet Singh and Puneet Rajkumar regaled the noisy crowd with some lighthearted kabaddi in the break.
“It is an exciting time for Kabaddi in our country,” said Rana, who has been associated with the Titans since the first season. “The TRPs are clearly headed North and this augurs well for the sport.”
The Titans had a scent of recovery when the gap narrowed to 16-20, with Rohit walking off a do-or-die raid with empty hands. The Bulls were down to three men at this point.
The spectators inside the Gachibowli stadium had their hearts in their mouth when the depleted Bulls team tackled Rahul Chaudhari. The gap extended to six and the Bulls had four men on the mat.
Nilesh Salunke has been covering well for an injured Rahul and he gained an invaluable raid point to stem the tide. But the score was still 17-23 and there was work to do.
Sandeep Narwal made a couple of productive and energetic raids to keep the Titans in the game. The Titans suffered a major blow when it was Sandeep again that cost them two points by being tackled with just two men defending Bulls territory.
With 4:22 on the clock, the hosts were down by eight. And most importantly, the super tackle had revived Rohit off the bench. The gap stretched to nine (21-30) when Narwal attempted a tackle on Rohit.
Titans finally solved their biggest puzzle of the night when Dhull inflicted an ankle hold on Rohit. Rahul completed the all out to bring the gap down to four points at 26-30
The Titans tried to hustle a comeback at the end but they ran out of time, slumping to yet another narrow defeat.
Full Time: Telugu Titans 28 – 30 Bengaluru Bulls
