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Rahul Chaudhari led from the front as he helped Telugu Titans win their second match on the trot of Star Sports Pro Kabaddi with a 45-24 win over Puneri Paltan. The Titans trailed at half-time, but roared through in the second half to seal a convincing victory in their final match of the first leg.
Telugu Titans suffered a setback in the first raid itself as star raider Rahul Chaudhari was caught out by the Paltan defenders. The team from Maharashtra started on the right note taking a 2 point lead after the first couple of minutes. However, within a matter of minutes, the team which annihilated Dabang Delhi in their opening match, came back strongly to lead 5-4 at the 7th minute.
The Wazir Singh-led Paltans went on a 5-point run to lead 9-5, but the Titans showed their quality to level the score 9-9 in the 12th minute. Yogesh Hudda of the Paltans got the crowd on their feet when, despite being held by 2 defenders, went on to touch the line to get 3 points for his team.
By the 18th minute, Pune had established a 3-point lead, but Hudda returned empty handed on the third consecutive raid for the team, which gave Telugu a point. The first half ended soon after with the Paltans going in the break with a 1-point lead. The first half was a disappointing affair for captain Wazir Singh as he returned empty-handed on all the 7 occasions he went in to raid.
Classy Rahul Chaudhari leads from the front
Telugu started the second half on top getting Wazir Singh and Yogesh out in the first minute. They went from strength to strength from then on as they accumulated 8 points in a row to establish a strong 7-point lead, getting Pune all out in the process.
The Titans showed no mercy as Rahul Chaudhari powered his way through and his team got their opponents all out once again to lead 30-14. This meant a 17-point run for the team from Hyderabad.
Paltan captain Wazir Singh got his first points of the match with a super raid in his 10th attempt, breaking his duck by winning 3 points. He continued his good run by returning with points in his next two raids as well.
Titans’ Deepak Hudda got the big fish, Yogesh Hudda, in his raid to stem Paltans’ momentum. Wazir Singh continued his red-hot form by getting a point each in his final two raids before getting caught with just 3 Titans defenders on the mat.
The Titans came back strongly as they got the Paltans out for the third time in the 38th minute. Rahul Chaudhari got the final points of that raid. Meraj Sheykh got a point in the final raid of the match to ensure Titans completed the rout with the scoreline reading 45-24 in favour of the team in yellow.
Man of the match: Rahul Chaudhari
Watch the highlights of the match here.
