Rahul Chaudhari’s individual brilliance in the closing minutes of a pulsating tie did not bring Telugu Titans its second victory in eight matches. In the end he was left fuming, having gifted a point because he did not get back to his court in time.
Chaudhary’s point-converting-raids sustained the contest almost till the last minute, but with Nitin Tomar, bought at Rs. 93 lakh, and Rishank Devadiga winning the big points, UP Yoddha registered its third win in four matches in a ‘Zone B’ match of the Vivo Pro Kabaddi Season 5 at the Arena by Transstadia on Saturday.
The closing score of 39-32 reveals a seven point difference, but luck deserted the Titans.
The Lucknow-based side began the match as a favourite, getting the psychological advantage of having beaten the Titans 31-18 at Gachibowli on August 1. But after Devadiga — sporting jersey No. 777 — got into “hand touch” action in the opening minutes and won a couple of points for his side, the packed audience saw some splendid riposte from a side which had lost five consecutive home matches in Hyderabad.
The likes of Chaudhari, always a threat to any defensive combination, Rakshith and Vishal Bhardwaj struck during raids and brought down rival raiders in a heap.
The half time score of 14-13 reflected a scrappy affair and the trend continued as the key players on either side kept the score neck to neck until Tomar held on to his nerves and rattled points for his side with successful raids.
A number of players made their presence count and kept UP Yoddha ahead; Rajesh Narwal, Surender Singh,Jeeva Kumar, Nitesh Kumar and Pankaj all chipped in.
Apart from Chaudhari, another player to impress for Titans was Rakshith, who won six points before being stretchered off the playing area with under three minutes of play left.
Chaudhari was the top-scorer in the match with 12 points and he took his tally to 63 points, but it shows that his team largely depends on his wherewithal to sustain a contest. The Titans’ only win so far has come against Tamil Thalaivas on July 18.
In another exciting match, Gujarat Fortunegiants got the better of Dabang Delhi KC 29-25 to notch its second straight win at home. GFG had beaten the Delhi side 26-20 in their previous encounter in Hyderabad. Once defender Fazel Atrachali ejected fellow Iranian Mehraj Sheykh with an ankle hold, Delhi, with a little over three minutes left and reduced to three players, saw the writing on the wall. Sukesh Hegde, Sachin won crucial points for the home team.
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