The Telugu Titans took on the Tamil Thalaivas in the final South Indian derby of the season in the 91st game of the Pro Kabaddi League Season 8, as both sides tussled to keep their chances for playoffs alive here at Sheraton Grand Hotel, Bengaluru on Thursday.
Tamil Thalaivas were all over their opponents tonight as they outplayed the Telugu Titans in every aspect of the game. The Thalaivas were the superior side tonight as Sagar proved his dominance in the league yet again picking up a career-best of nine tackles points in the game. The defender was aptly supported by his raiders in Ajinkya Pawar and Manjeet as the duo picked up a total of nineteen points to lead their side past the finish line.
The Thalaivas were just unstoppable tonight in defense as their defensive unit picked up a staggering seventeen points in the game. The defenders never had a dull moment and did not provide the opposition raiders any opportunity to make a comeback into the game. The raiders were fueled with momentum as their defense backed them all throughout the game reviving them at every opportunity.
On the other hand, the Telugu Titans will be disheartened with their performance as none of their players were able to match the intensity brought on by their opponents and almost surrendered around the closing minutes of the game. Adarsh T and Sandeep Kandola were decent with four tackles points each, and on any other day this would have been a spectacular performance but the duo was outshined by the young defender in Sagar. Rohit Kumar failed to leave an impact on the game and had to bank on Raju Galla to score the majority of points in the offense.
Surjeet Singh in action as he dashes out the raider from reaching the mid-line
Since the early start of the game, the Thalaivas had strong control over the flow of the game as they dominated their opponents in the first half inflicting an all-out early in the game to gain a considerable lead heading into the second half. Skipper Surjeet Singh, lead the charge with the defense as he was present on support every single time he was present on the mat, and despite just two tackles points to his name, the veteran defender had a great outing tonight.
Manjeet and Ajinkya kept a firm hold over their opponents as they made sure to score points at every opportunity to put the Telugu Titans in a vulnerable position. Sagar was a straight fire in the second half as the defender pounced on the raiders like a predator on the hunt, scoring his eight High 5 of the season.
The Thalaivas consolidated their lead with yet another all-out on their opponents in the second half of the game to curb any chances of a late comeback. Tamil Thalaivas have been nothing short of excellent in defense so far this season and will hope that their defense can usher them into the playoffs for the first time since their addition to the league in 2017.
Telugu Titans is currently on the tenth spot in the points table with 39 points in 14 games, the team still has eight games in hand and they are just four points short of Haryana Steelers who are currently at sixth place in the points table with 43 points in 15 games. A win over U Mumba on Saturday in their upcoming fixture could see the team leap to fifth place on the points table.