The teams were level in the initial stages with the lead
changing hands. The half-time score of 13-12 in favour of the visitors promised
a humdinger of a contest but the hosts simply collapsed under the relentless
pressure exerted by the Titans’ attacking duo. Today’s performance by Sukesh
and Prashant has opened up further options for the Titans which will set alarm
bells ringing for their opponents.
To compound the Pirates worry, the Titans’ left corner
Sandeep was in irresistible form coming up with frontal blocks and waist holds
to gobble up rival raiders Rakesh and Ravi Dalal to lend excellent support.
The Pirates had a good start with Rakesh showing glimpses of
his class. He had good support from young Sandeep Narwal who came up with two
raid points and a good catch to help his team remain in the hunt. For the
Titans their star and last season’s leading raider Rahul Chaudhari was totally
off-colour and so was Deepak Nivas Hudda, their second string raider who also
doubles up in defence.
But as they say cometh the hour cometh the man, Sukesh Hegde
rose to the occasion. He effected a super raid to send his team up 12-9 much to
the surprise of his team mates and the partisan Patna crowd. That was the turning point
because the Titans never looked back thereafter although Patna raised the expectations of their fans.
Substitute Girish Ernak and Rakesh Kumar managed a super tackle each to wrest
the lead 16-15 in the 25thminute.
But it was again Sukesh Hegde who did the damage. He
sent out Ravi Dalal at a crucial juncture after which strode Prashant Rai on
stage. He dominated from then on to take his tally to eight points with a
couple of raids ended with two points each. This resulted in the second all-out
for Patna and
effectively snuffed their hopes of making a comeback at 33-19 in the 37th minute.
In the post-match press conference, both team owner Rajesh V
Shah and Captain Rakesh Kumar were optimistic of better fortunes for their
team. “This was the opening game of our home leg. We will not lose confidence
after this loss to Telugu Titans” said Rajesh V Shah on his team’s loss.
Veteran Rakesh Kumar was realistic about the reasons his
team lost to Telugu Titans tonight: “We were poor in both departments of
offence and defence tonight but we fought till the last minute. We should learn
from this loss because we have 10 matches left to make a comeback and this is
not the end. Ravi Dalal and I have had a tough start to the tournament but this
is just the beginning and the team will come back strongly. I am working hard
every day and so is my team. We need the support and faith of our Patna fans to move on and
get better results. Currently, we are in talks with the Kabaddi Federation in Bihar to carry out actions that will uplift the sport of
kabaddi in the state.”
The star player for Telugu Titans, Sukesh Hegde was ecstatic
about his team’s momentous run in Season 2 so far. “I am proud of the team and
the work that they put in this game today to win. We have enjoyed playing in Patna and are looking
forward to our encounter tomorrow with Bengaluru Bulls.”
Regarding Rahul Chaudhari’s early substitution in the game,
Sukesh was appreciative of Rahul’s efforts in Season 2 so far. “Yes, he was
substituted for a while today but he is an amazing player. Any player has their
good and bad days and unfortunately today wasn’t his day.”
MATCH 22 – PATNA
PIRATES VS TELUGU TITANS
|
No.
|
Award
|
Player/Team
|
|
1
|
TVS BEST RAIDER OF THE MATCH
|
PRASHANT KUMAR RAI (TELUGU TITANS)
|
|
2
|
BAJAJ ELECTRICAL INSPIRING DEFENDER OF THE MATCH
|
SANDEEP (TELUGU TITANS)
|
|
3
|
|
PRASHANT KUMAR RAI (TELUGU TITANS)
|
|
4
|
VIP FRENCHIE BIG IMPRESSION PLAYER OF THE MATCH
|
SUKESH HEGDE (TELUGU TITANS)
|
|
5
|
FLIPKART AUDIENCE KI WISH PLAYER OF THE MATCH
|
RAKESH KUMAR (
|
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