Telugu Titans marched into the sem-finals of Pro Kabaddi 2016 Season 4 in spectacular style by thumping a weakened Jaipur Pink Panthers side 35-23. Led by talismanic raider Rahul Chaudhari, the Titans recovered from a relatively slow start to put the after burners on and destroyed Jaipur, who looked really lack lustre on the night. The win for Telugu Titans took their tally to 45 points, making them the third team to qualify for the knockouts.
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Jaipur Pink Panthers came into the game quite relaxed, having already qualified for the semi-finals, and it reflected in their line-up as they were without talismanic captain Jasvir Singh and Shabeer Bapu. Telugu Titans, on the other hand, fielded a strong starting seven with Rahul Chaudhari, Jasmer Singh Gulia and Sandeep Narwal all starting for the team from Hyderabad.
The game got off to an excellent start as both teams were looking quite menacing and Rahul Chaudhari started proceedings by getting his team off the mark. However, Jaipur Pink Panthers, one of the most resilient and defensively tight teams in Pro Kabaddi 2016 Season 4, went into a mini lead of two points. With Jaipur leading 3-1, Telugu Titans bounced back to level things at 3-3.
As compared to the earlier game between Delhi and Bengal, this game had a more conservative approach but was more tactically engaging. Jaipur did not look like they were a team already qualified and without a couple of key players. They kept on piling the pressure on Telugu Titans, who responded in great fashion through Rahul Chaudhari and their defence. Telugu raced into a lead of two points with just eight and a half minutes remaining in the first half.
Jaipur Pink Panthers were down to three men and they were down to just two men when Shrikant’s successful raid was overturned by a Telugu Titans review. An interesting battle ensued between Amit Hooda and Rahul Chaudhari with the latter not being able to get the better of the most successful raider in the league.
Rahul came on again with a do or die raid and Jaipur having two men on the mat, this time getting better of Amit Hooda. Rahu Chaudhari brought up his century for the season and Telugu Titans inflicted the first All Out to take a lead of 8 points with score being 12-8. There were just five minutes remaining in the first half and it clearly showed that Jaipur were missing the experience of Shabeer Bapu.
The Titans kept piling on the pressure and looked more menacing as the half progressed. Jaipur, on the other hand, did not show a lot of urgency in their approach and rightly so. Rahul Chaudhari did the bulk of raiding for Telugu Titans and he was quite stellar in the first period. Telugu Titans went into the first half with a huge lead of ten points, looking quite comfortable.
HALF TIME Telugu Titans 17-10 Jaipur Pink Panthers
Telugu Titans continued from where they left off in the first half and qucikly reduced Jaipur to two men. A good raid by Ran Singh, which yielded two points, was followed by a Super Tackle as Jaipur delayed the All Out once again. Rahul Chaudhari and co then decided to play on the defence to inflict the second all out and it worked when Jaipur’s raider committed suicide by going into the yellow lobby without any touch.
Ran Singh came on again to save his team and delay an all out but this time he returned empty handed. What followed was Rahul Chaudhari showing why he is the greatest raider in the history of Pro Kabaddi. He took both Ran Singh and Amit Hooda in one raid to inflict the second All Out. Telugu Titans raced to a 13-point lead with the score standing at 23-11.
Jaipur Pink Panthers staged a mini comeback and managed to reduce the lead to just eight points but the game firmly remained in the hands of Telugu Titans. The men in yellow continued to pick points to maintain their lead over Jaipur and restored parity to proceedings with the score reading 29-15 on the 33 minute mark. Rahul Chaudhari was imperious and put on yet another show in front of a packed crowd in Delhi.
The last six minutes of the game saw Jaipur attack and they managed to reduce Telugu Titans to four men but a great tackle on Rajesh Narwal was symbolic of how the night was going on for Telugu Titans. The match ended with a do or die raid for Prapanjan, who was tackled by the Jaipur defence.
FULL TIME: Telugu Titans 35 – 23 Jaipur Pink Panthers
