Pro Kabaddi 2019, Jaipur Pink Panthers vs Telugu Titans: Vishal Bhardwaj helps clinch a win for the Titans
Telugu Titans did not start the season on a good note, given that they were unable to win a single match in their home leg. In a rather strong comeback, they defeated Haryana Steelers in their prior battle with a huge margin during the Chennai leg.
Abhishek Bachchan's Jaipur Pink Panthers, probably one of the best teams of Pro Kabaddi 2019, demolished the home team Tamil Thalaivas in their previous match. Their performances have enabled the inaugural champions to be perched at the top spot in the team leaderboard.
Read to find out how the anticipated battle between Siddharth Desai's Telugu Titans and Deepak Niwas Hooda's Jaipur Pink Panthers unfolded itself at the Thyagaraj Sports Complex on the first day of the New Delhi leg.
Siddharth Desai started for the Titans and returned with a brilliant point. Deepak Narwal opened the account for his squad after picking up a swift bonus. Both the teams were careful to avoid useless errors in this slow-paced encounter.
Telugu's defense was very tight, not allowing the raiders of Jaipur to make a single mark on them. As the match progressed, the Pink Pathers inflicted a super-tackle on Siddharth Desai, not just once but twice, bringing the score to a tie at eight each.
Vishal Bhardwaj, the young gun from the Titans, blew minds with his fierce tackles as he kept the rival raiders at bay. Yet another super tackle put Desai's flight to a stop and sent him off the mat.
From the Pink Army, Sandeep Dhull was also on top of his game as he inflicted brilliant super tackles on the opponents. At half-time, despite Telugu's brilliant start, the yellow army lagged behind on the scoreboard with the score 11-14. As the second half commenced, Bhardwaj completed his High 5 as he inflicted a successful super tackle on Ajinkya Pawar.
Siddharth Desai surprisingly wasn't able to perform. Vishal, giving an out-of-the-world performance, initiated yet another super tackle, collecting a total of eight tackle points after 27 minutes. The game was undoubtedly a defense-heavy one.
The Men in Yellow claimed a review in the 37th minute of the match, which was deemed successful. In a nerve-wracking raid, Desai was yet again super-tackled. In the very last raid, the Panthers took a review, which, upon inspection, was deemed unsuccessful, and that caused them to lose the battle with the score 21-24.
It was a very nail-biting battle where the result was declared only in the buzzer raid. This match was a perfect example of the level of toughness in the seventh edition of the Pro Kabaddi League.
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