Pro Kabaddi League: Thalaivas wins Southern derby

This was Thalaivas’ fifth win of the season in 15 matches. It has now accumulated 30 points, while Titans has 32 points from 11 games. Thalaivas players Ponparthiban Subramanian and Manjeet Chhillar delivered a defensive masterclass, getting a ‘High 5’ each. After a superb start, Titans’ Rahul Chaudhari faded away as the contest progressed, ending up with only six points.

In terms of team news, Anil Kumar, who collected a ‘High 5’ against Bengaluru Bulls, earned a spot in the Thalaivas starting seven for the first time this season. After a string of disappointing performances, raider Jasvir Singh was left out of the match day squad. Titans skipper Vishal Bhardwaj returned to the set-up after missing a few matches.

Ajay got the scoreboard ticking with a bonus point in the first raid of the match. He took the onus upon himself, going for three consecutive raids, scoring two points. Titans opened a slender three-point lead around the seven-minute mark.

Then, Sukesh Hegde produced a stunning ‘Super raid’ in a ‘Do or Die’ situation in the 11th minute, sending Titans trio of Abozar Mohajermighani, Mohsen Maghsoudloujafari and Anil Kumar Narwal to the bench. At that juncture, the score was locked at eight each.

Thalaivas enforced the first all-out in the 15th minute, downing substitute Kamal Singh, who was the lone man left on the mat for the Hyderabad-based team. A couple of successful tackles helped Ajay’s men take a seven-point cushion going into the half-time break, with the scores reading 18-11.

Titans defence was completely quiet in the first half, managing just two points to Thalaivas’ five. When an all-out was on the cards at the start of the second half, all-rounder Manjeet brought all his experience into play. He got a raid point and also played a part in inflicting a ‘Super tackle’ in consecutive raids. Despite claiming three ‘Super tackles’, Titans found it difficult to revive its players from the bench as it kept failing in ‘Do or Die’ raids. Thalaivas had a six-point advantage going into the last five minutes of an entertaining encounter. A ‘Super tackle’ by Thalaivas in the final stages dashed Titans’ hopes of making a late surge.

“We will have to win six of our remaining matches. Now that we came up trumps (on Monday), it will give us momentum going forward. Though we are missing a few players through injuries, I am confident we will pull it off,” said Thalaivas head coach Edachery Bhaskaran during the post-match press conference.