PKL 2019, Telugu Titans vs Puneri Paltan: Paltan claim 53-50 win to knock Titans out of contention for the playoffs
Telugu Titans squandered their only chance of staying in contention for a place in the playoffs after Anup Kumar's Puneri Paltan pulled off a thrilling 53-50 win in the 119th fixture of Pro Kabaddi 2019 at Haryana's Tau Devilal Sports Complex.
The highest-scoring match in the history of the league saw Manjeet, Rakesh Gowda, and Sushant Sail complete their respective Super 10s. On the defensive front, Surjeet Singh and Krushna Madane from the Paltan and Titans respectively gathered 7 and 5 tackle points each.
Siddharth Desai went in for the first raid of the match and was instantly sent off to the bench by a firm tackle from Manjeet. The following minute saw Rajnish pick up a bonus point right before being sent off by a power-packed dash which opened up the tackle points account for the Titans.
The Titans were dealt an early blow as they suffered an All Out in the fifth minute which put the opponents ahead by a 10-3 margin. The Hyderabad-based franchise struggled to stay afloat in front of Pune's all-round show.
The 13th minute saw the Titans concede yet another ill-fated All Out which gifted the Paltan a massive 14-point lead. Rakesh Gowda from Pune was at his best though, as he continued to pick up multiple point raids and brought about a few important points.
Farhad Milaghardan was yet another player who impressed for the Titans off the bench as he picked up a Super 10 and supported Rakesh well, with Siddharth Desai failing to do well on the day.
The conclusion of the first half saw the Puneri Paltan claim a 31-16 lead. Nitin Tomar's running hand-touch started the second half for the Paltan on an impressive note, followed by which a mind-blowing Super Raid saw Rakesh complete his Super 10.
A gradual comeback by the Titans was on display with both the offense and defence units gathering points non-stop and with less than 10 minutes on the clock, the score difference was brought down to just 5 points.
In a bid to pick up points, the Paltan and the Titans demanded back-to-back reviews for bonus points. The reviews brought about a point for the latter while the former lost their review on being deemed unsuccessful.
Emad Sedaghatnia's timely Super Raid was succeeded by a power-packed Super Tackle from Krushna Madane that sent Emad off the mat. In the end, the high-scoring battle came to an end as Puneri Paltan emerged victorious with a 53-50 margin that knocked the Telugu Titans out of the race for a spot in the playoffs.
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