Patna Pirates sink Telugu Titans in closely-fought battle

After an easy win in their opening tie, Telugu Titans were looking to stamp their authority on Season 5 of VIVO Pro Kabaddi by taking down defending champions Patna Pirates in Saturday’s second match in Hyderabad. But that was not to be as a strong Patna defence and a scintillating performance by captain Pardeep Narwal handed the Titans their first defeat of the season.

The match started off in an exhilarating fashion with Rahul Chaudhari raiding first amidst chants of “Rahul, Rahul” by the crowd. He kept scoring consistently for the Titans and was ably assisted by Vikas. On the other side, the combo of Narwal and Monu Goyat made sure the Pirates stayed in the hunt. Both teams kept trading blows with neither Chaudhari nor Narwal ready to blink. With the scores going head-to-head, a last-minute super tackle by Patna gave them a narrow one-point lead as the first half finished 15-14 in favour of the current champions.

The second half continued to be tense as a Patna Pirates All-Out gave the hosts an early 19-16 lead. However, the Pirates soon inflicted an All-Out of their own in the 17^th minute on the back of a super raid by Narwal, who was unstoppable on the night with 15 points. The Pirates defence was brought under a lot of pressure but they held their own in the dying moments to clinch the match 35-29.  

Now, the home side will look to put today’s disappointment behind as they move on to their next game against Bengaluru Bulls on Sunday. Interestingly, Narwal’s Pirates will now meet the same opposition at the same venue in their next match on August 3. We’ll have to just wait and watch out for that re-match!

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