'%20x='0'%20y='0'%20height='100%25'%20width='100%25'%20%0A%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20xlink%3Ahref='data:image/jpg;base64,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'%3E%3C/image%3E%3C/svg%3E)
The last match of the Lucknow leg dished out yet another riveting thriller that eventually fulfilled the home team's supporters' wish of seeing their team win in front of them. UP Yoddha finally prevailed over Telugu Titans in a match that had again threatened to slip away from their clutches in the dying moments. However, Nitin Tomar kept his calm and did the needful and eked out a one point win for the team.
Like most of the matches of the Lucknow leg, it wasn't exactly the most memorable of nights for the raiders as both teams played defensively and it was only in the last few minutes of the game that the raid points started flowing from both sides.
In the end, UP Yoddha proved to be the team with a better strategy and succeeded in ending their campaign on a high after five winless games. Here are the five talking points of the match.
#1 Narwal's failed bluff and Milaghardan's response
Rajesh Narwal is one of the characters of Pro Kabaddi League. Whatever the colour of his jersey might be, he has never shied away from using the bluff card to get his team points. On Thursday, it was out again when he came on to raid against Telugu Titans, something he hasn’t done a lot this season. With a raised hand, he quickly claimed a toe touch against Iranian Farhad Milaghardan.
The Iranian was furious and indicated that he would go upstairs while Narwal continued celebrating. The referee, however, knew better and wasn’t to be fooled so easily. He didn’t give any point to Narwal because the replays revealed soon that there were none to be given as there was daylight between the toes of the two players.
The Telugu Titans' cover defender was definitely not pleased yet as on his next raid Milaghardan took out Narwal with a running hand touch.
#2 Rahul loses his cool
As the match was intensifying, the chirping on the mat also reached unbearable levels for the referees who finally decided enough was enough. Defender Vishal Bhardwaj was shown a green card to begin a forgettable passage of play for the Titans. Rahul Chaudhari started off by playing the 'sensible captain' and seemed to be advising the young defender to move on with the game.
Things didn’t take too long to change though as soon, Chaudhari himself was found arguing with the referee. Apparently, the Titans captain was miffed over the Yoddha being given a technical point for the late entry by Titans raider. Chaudhari kept on asking for a review and his appeals for review soon took a tone that didn’t go down too well with the referee who duly gave the star raider marching orders.
#3 After 16 points, Devadiga scores a duck
Rishank Devadiga is a man of extremes. When he is good, there is no one better than him in any remote part of the universe. But when he is bad, he is difficult to hide. And the problem is that the big man runs down from one extreme to the other in no time. After having turned in a performance of a lifetime against Bengal Warriors where he racked up 16 points in a losing cause, Devadiga of Wednesday just didn’t turn up. Who turned up instead was a man who just didn’t know how to score points.
More than 10 attempts at raiding didn’t fetch him a single point on Thursday. How unsettling it must have been to the team’s plans can’t be stated enough as all the responsibility of collecting points eventually came down on the broad shoulders of Nitin Tomar. To add insult to injury, the errors in the defence also didn’t stop coming from Devadiga to make it a forgettable night for him even though, for once, his team ended up on the winning side. The fans of the raider can only hope that the real Devadiga turns up in the next game.
#4 Maghsoudlou's moment of magic
With three minutes left on the clock and the low scoring game promising another edge of the seat finish, Telugu Titans made the substitution that tilted the game in their favour. From nowhere, they brought in Mohsen Maghsoudlou into the equation in a do or die raid when the scores were locked at 20 apiece.
The Iranian didn’t waste a second to make an impact and Rajesh Narwal and Rishank Devadiga were both left dazed by his speed and conceded two points to him as the Iranian brought out the dubki. In a low scoring game, a lead of two points is of humungous proportions and the Titans suddenly found them in a position of strength.
The fact that Titans went on to lose from that position owes much to his no further participation in raiding.
#5 Captain Tomar restores calm as tactless Titans slip
After Maghsoudlou’s double point raid, things had once again reached a point where UP Yoddha had been again and again in the past week. In most of the contests they have lost, it is only in the last moments that they have allowed the opposition to get the better of them. But probably the experience helped them this time around to pull off a win. Or maybe Titans' failure to push the advantage deprived them of an opportunity to score a crucial win.
Captain Nitin Tomar kept his calm and, despite being two points behind, didn’t let the nerves dominate in the dying minutes of the game. On the other hand, Titans' decision to not use a fresh Maghsoudlou who had so dramatically changed the complexion of the match with his only single raid attempt was baffling and would certainly go down as the decision that cost them the match. In the end, both Tomar’s calm and Titans' hara-kiri combined to hand UP Yoddha their first win in front of their home crowd.
