Telugu Titans saw off a serious challenge from Dabang Delhi in the dying stages to win 39-35 in the Pro Kabaddi League on Sunday in Delhi at the Thyagaraj Stadium.
Playing at home, Delhi would have gone into the game fancying their chances but the Titans had other plans. Before the game, both teams were in a precarious position in the eight-team tournament. The boys from Vizag were without a win after three games, whereas Delhi had a solitary triumph to their name in the competition.
The game was a closely contested one but the Titans had dominated early on in the match. In what has been a clear weakness for Delhi, they once again were all over the place in the early stages of the match. The Titans mounted attacks and took a handy lead of nine points early on.
Rahul Chaudhari put in a tremendous showing as he racked up a sizable 15 points. His continuous attacking meant that Delhi were on the back foot throughout the game. Deepak Nivas Hudda was nothing short of excellent as he provided Chaudhari fantastic support and bagged 10 crucial points.
Trailing by a sizeable nine points, Delhi decided it was time to go on the offensive. It was the ever-sharp pair of Surjeet Narwal and Kashiling Adake who took the bull by the horns as they attempted to bring the team back into the contest. As soon as they got going there were more chances created, which led to an increase in the score. However, the Titans still held the lead and the score at the end of the first half was 23-18.
The Titans were determined not to surrender their lead that easily, especially when they were looking for their first win. They went about attacking again as with only five minutes remaining on the clock, the score was 34-23 in their favour.
For Delhi, Narwal still had not given up hope as he found extra energy and set about keeping his team in the game. In the end though the Titans somehow managed stave off Narwal and come out winners.
Hudda won the Star Raider prize, while Titans captain Rajaguru Subramanian, who defended stoutly, was Best Defender.
The Titans are now in 5th place while Delhi are 7th.
Points Table:
1] U Mumba 23 points
2] Bengaluru Bulls 16 points
3] Jaipur Pink Panthers 10 points
4] Bengal Warriors 10 points
5] Telugu Titans 9 points
6] Puneri Paltan 8 points
7] Dabang Delhi 7 points
8] Patna Pirates 6 points
