Pirates pile on the misery for a frail Telugu Titans side

Telugu Titans failed to impress yet again in the last game of their home leg as they lost their fifth VIVO Pro Kabaddi match on the trot. For the second time this season, double defending champions Patna Pirates got the better of the Titans at the Gachibowli Indoor Stadium on Thursday, this time with a 43-36 scoreline.

Patna Pirates raiders Pardeep Narwal and Monu Goyat turned on the pressure in the initial stages but some defensive lapses meant that Telugu Titans managed to draw abreast of their opponents. Rahul Chaudhari was once again the primary target for the Pirates defenders and a super tackle on the Raid Machine gave the Pirates the lead in the 9th minute. In the absence of the captain, Titans’ Rakesh Kumar came to the party taking responsibility in both defence and offence to make it 12-12 in the 14^th minute. Once the Patna Pirates defence started shining though, it was too much for the Titans to deal with. They gave away too many points late in the first half to concede a 23-15 lead to the Pirates going into half time.

The second half saw any hope of a Telugu Titans revival disappear quickly as the raiding duo of Dubki King Narwal and Goyat seemed to have hit their stride.  Narwal showed a number of new skills like the jump, kick and running hand-touch as he raced away to his second Super 10 in as many games, eventually finishing the match with 12 points. Goyat proved his class as well, scoring a Super 10 of his own. At 38-22 it was well and truly over for the Titans.

Their only challenge was now to lose by 7 points or less, which will guarantee them at least one point. And Chaudhari and Rohit Rana rose to this challenge and organised a strong comeback. Chaudhari scored his second Super 10 for his team this season and Rana kept Narwal in check which helped Telugu Titans inflict an All-Out on the Pirates late in the game. This proved to be vital as the Titans eventually succeeded in salvaging one point from the match.