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The Pro Kabaddi League 2018 season moved over to a new location as the Vizag leg of the competition commenced tonight at the Rajiv Gandhi Indoor Stadium. The home side Telugu Titans started off against the Gujarat Fortunegiants as the inter zone challenge week carried on.
The home side came into the match with an ominous streak of four losses on the trot and hoped to get their home leg off to a positive start. They lay at the bottom of the Zone B standings but still had an outside chance of qualification for the playoffs due to matches in hand. Telugu Titans played their original lineup tonight from the start of the season with Vishal Bhardwaj and Abozar Mighani occupying the corners and the duo of Rahul Chaudhari and Nilesh Salunke leading the raiding unit.
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Gujarat Fortunegiants had lost just once in their last five matches and secured the qualification for playoffs. They hoped to leapfrog U Mumba on the Zone A standings with a win over the Telugu Titans. The strong defence led by their skipper Sunil Kumar was they key for their success along with the form of their star raider Sachin Tanwar.
Gujarat Fortunegiants won a close encounter as they beat Telugu Titans with a 29-27 margin going atop the Zone A standings ahead of U Mumba.
The first half of the match started as a close-knit affair with both sides relying on their defensive resilience on the mat. K Prapanjan was the only raider for Gujarat Fortunegiants who was successful with a score of eight points to his name. The star man of the Titans lineup, Rahul Chaudhari got a Super Raid but they were not able to take advantage of their numerical superiority and let Gujarat take control. The Fortunegiants managed to get the all-out late in the half and went into the second half with a 17-12 lead.
The second period saw the Titans come back into the match and got an all-out to make things interesting in the end. However, a failed raid by Rahul Chaudhari at the death saw the Gujarat Fortunegiants win by a two-point margin.
Telugu Titans
Vishal Bhardwaj - (4/10)
The Telugu Titans skipper had one tackle point with his ankle hold on the left corner. He had an injury issue in the second half and was benched.
Abozar Mighani - (3/10)
The Iranian powerhouse defender had a night to forget in the defence as he put in a lot of mistimed tackles from the right corner. He failed to pick up a tackle point tonight.
Farhad Milaghardan - (5/10)
Farhad Milaghardan was an active presence in both attack and defence for the Telugu Titans. He scored three points tonight including two raid points and was a good support with his defensive assists.
Mohsen Maghsoudlou - (4/10)
The all-rounder was called in to raid on many occasions but did not enjoy much success for the Titans. He picked one tackle point in the cover position with a strong dash.
Anil Kumar - (3/10)
The cover defender was hasty in his tackles in the Telugu defensive setup leaking in easy touch points for the Gujarat Fortunegiants' raiders.
Rahul Chaudhari - (7.5/10)
The star man of the Telugu Titans side started off well tonight getting one Super Raid in the first half and had five raid points. However, he was kept off the mat for a long period of time by the Gujarat defence and scored eight points in the end.
Nilesh Salunke - (4/10)
The supporting raider came back to the lineup after missing out on a couple of matches. He picked up four raid points before being substituted in the second half of the match.
Substitutes:
Rakshith - (5/10)
The young raider came on to replace Nilesh Salunke in the second half of the match. He started off strongly with a two-pointer in a do-or-die situation.
Krushna Madane - (4/10)
The right corner defender came on to replace Vishal Bhardwaj in the second half after an injury scare. He managed to get one tackle point with an ankle hold.
Gujarat Fortunegiants
Sunil Kumar - (4/10)
The Gujarat Fortunegiants skipper had a quiet outing in the cover position as they failed to trap the Telugu Titans' raiders. He had a lone tackle point tonight.
Parvesh Bhainswal - (6/10)
The cover defender Parvesh Bhainswal was the best defender on the mat for Gujarat Fortunegiants with his three tackle points.
Sachin Vittala - (4/10)
Sachin Vittala operated on the left corner for the Gujarat side and did well to support his fellow defenders and managed one tackle point as well.
Ruturaj Koravi - (3/10)
The right corner Ruturaj Koravi was targeted on multiple occasions by the Telugu Titans' raiders and did not manage a single tackle point tonight.
Sachin Tanwar - (7.5/10)
The in-form raider had a quiet first half of the match tonight but picked up steam in the second half. He fell just shy of a Super 10 and picked up crucial points towards the end of the match.
K Prapanjan - (8.5/10)
The raider had a strong night on the mat as he was successful in the first half raking in eight raid points including a couple of two-pointer raids. He was kept fairly quiet in the second half but still managed to get his Super 10 on the night.
Ajay Kumar - (3/10)
The third raider in the Gujarat Fortunegiants setup had a quiet night on the mat for the side with just one raid point in the first half of the match.
