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The Inter-Zone Challenge week saw more teams strengthen their case for a spot in the super playoffs that are inching closer with every passing match. The first game of the night saw the Telugu Titans take on the Jaipur Pink Panthers while the second match saw the home team Dabang Delhi up against the UP Yoddha.
Helped by Rahul Chaudhari's sparkling 16-point performance, Telugu Titans put their name in the hat as contenders for the playoffs by registering a clinical win over the Panthers who badly missed the services of Jasvir Singh on the night.
On the other hand, Delhi were no competition for UP Yoddha who romped home to a massive win, humiliating Delhi in front of their home crowd. Here are five talking points from the day.
#1 Pawan on a different planet
How many times in the Pro Kabaddi League has a player picked his Super 10 with his team's score just 12? That’s how lonely Pawan Kumar was in his struggle against Telugu Titans on Wednesday. On his raids, he looked even better than Rahul Chaudhari but was continuously let down by his fellow raiders and defenders.
The Jaipur defence was woeful on the night and kept gifting points to Chaudhari with rookie errors. Back from injury, Selvamani also disappointed and Tushar Patil did not help his cause, putting in some unsuccessful raids. But in a world far, far away, Pawan just kept going with his brilliant raiding.
Some support came his way when captain Chhillar decided to unleash young Nitin Rawal on the opposition in the second half. However, it was a case of too little too late. Eventually, Kumar finished with 17 points, one more than what Rahul Chaudhari could accrue. The win, however, belonged to Chaudhari and not Pawan.
#2 Chaudhari the winner in Chhillar-Chaudhari contest
The match was billed as a contest between Chhillar and Chaudhari, two of the fiercest competitors in the league. And when the match ended, there was no dispute as to who finished on top in that battle.
Manjeet Chhillar at Left Cover hasn’t really brought his team the desired results. In fact, in his new position, he seems to have lost the edge that is generally associated with him, and he has often failed to anticipate the raiders' movements.
Even on Wednesday, he was no match for Rahul Chaudhari and constantly ended up giving him points, engaging in needless advanced tackle attempts. Even on the last raid attempt by Chaudhari, Chhillar went after him and failed miserably, ending with just a solitary tackle point. Earlier in the match, Titans were awarded a point when Chhillar was found guilty of foul play against Titans’ Maghsoudlou.
#3 Rohit Rana's night to forget
If there was a man who could have won Jaipur Pink Panthers the match on Wednesday evening, it was Rohit Rana. Not playing for the Panthers for the first time in Pro Kabaddi League history, the Titans star left no stone unturned in trying to put his team out of the contest, with some truly horrible tackle attempts. He seemed to be competing with Rahul Chaudhari, conceding points with the same ease with which Chaudhari collected them.
In the end, it became all too predictable as every Jaipur raider tried to get a point off Rana, He was substituted midway through the game but was surprisingly brought back on the mat later on. Nothing changed though for the man with the mask and he ended up with 10 unsuccessful tackle attempts and 0 successful ones.
#4 Delhi disappoint again
After a spirited show against Patna Pirates the previous night, Dabang Delhi came a cropper once again in front of the Nitin Tomar-led UP Yoddha. It was one-way traffic right from the start and Delhi never threatened to put up a fight.
Usually, the Iranian pair of Sheykh and Maghsodlou do enough to help the team save face. But on Wednesday, even they couldn’t do much and it was a procession from start to finish.
The defence kept leaking points while the raiders were just not good enough to make up for the defence’s poor show. In the end, it was all too easy for UP Yoddha who bolstered their chances of making it to the super playoffs with an emphatic win.
#5 Zone B heats up
With Bengal Warriors and Patna Pirates having almost sealed their respective spots in the super playoffs, the third spot has become the holy grail for the rest of the teams in Zone B. With Telugu Titans securing a win against Jaipur Pink Panthers on Wednesday, that race is heating up. Bengaluru Bulls, Telugu Titans and UP Yoddha are all in with a chance.
Even Tamil Thalaivas have shown some incredible spunk in the last couple of matches and, having played the least number of matches in the group, will fancy their chances if they can string together a few wins. While UP Yoddha looked the favourites at one point, their inability to convert good performances into big wins has hurt them, pushing them down the pecking order.
Telugu Titans’ win on Wednesday has made it a four-horse race and every match now becomes all the more important.
