Kabaddi
PKL 2021: Telugu Titans' search for their first win continues
Telugu Titans fell to a 30-31 defeat against three-time champions Patna Pirates in match 31 of PKL 2021.
Sachin Tanwar's final raid inspired Patna Pirates to a win (Source: patnapirates/instagram)
The last man standing on the mat, Sachin Tanwar, inspired the Patna Pirates on the victorious path in the final raid of the match. Sachin Tanwar's magical decisive raid helped three-time champions to register their fourth win of PKL 2021. The nail-biting encounter ended on a 31-30 scoreline in the favour of the Bihar-based franchise.
As it happened........
Patna Pirates retained the same Starting 7 carrying the momentum from their previous victory against the defending champions Bengal Warriors. Star raider Siddharth 'Bahubali' Desai was once again absent from Telugu Titans matchday squad. Jagdish Kumble replaced the left cover Manish with Prince who had an impressive cameo in his last appearance. Pirates entered onto the mat in their classic away white kits for the first time this season.
The battle commenced on a steady note in early minutes. Captain Prashanth Kumar Rai's offensive heroics helped the Pirates to force all-out over Titans in the first quarter of the game. It took Titans thirteen minutes of the clock to score the first tackle point. Patna obtained a handy five-point lead at the halftime whistle.
Telugu Titans gained rhythm at halftime and carried it further forcing Pirates on verge of all-out. Vice-captain Neeraj Kumar's gutsy super tackle postponed the all-out. Although Titans finally took their revenge in the 28th minute reducing the lead to just one point. Stand-in captain Monu Goyat's Super Tackle on Ankit Beniwal saved them from an all-out situation and granted a crucial lead. Patna successfully protected this tiny lead to claim all five match-points.
Takeaways from the clash
The raging approach from Patna Pirates on the mat and their Ram Mehar Singh outside the mat was the highlight of the match. It was a total team effort from the PKL's most decorated franchise as not a single Patna player remained pointless. Apart from offence and defence, Monu Goyat also contributed with his leadership abilities to stabilize his side in crucial moments.
Emerging raider Ankit Beniwal was the only raider from the match who achieved the Super 10 landmark. Telugu captain Rohit Kumar made a tactical error by not offering the youngster enough raids. Although Rohit covered his mistake in the second half and the Ankit also lived up to the expectations of Titans. Telugu truly missed the presence of their superstar raider Siddharth Desai who is out of the action due to an arm injury.
