Pro Kabaddi League 2017 Season 5: Five talking points from Day 44 of PKL 5
21-21 last time and 26-26 this time -- the Southern derby between the Bengaluru Bulls and Telugu Titans delivered yet another tie in Season 5 of Pro Kabaddi. It was a cagey affair all along that came down to the last raid in which the Titans managed to tie things up.
That set things up nicely for the second game where the UP Yoddha and Patna Pirates served up a treat with the home side picking up their second home win on the trot thanks to some brilliance in the end from their lead man.
Here's what stood out on the night.
#1 Super Tackles to the rescue
There was just the solitary All Out in the match between the Bengaluru Bulls and Telugu Titans -- inflicted by the Bulls in the first half. That meant that the match was relatively close throughout.
Rahul Chaudhari and Rohit Kumar, the lead raiders of the Titans and Bulls respectively, were having good games to lead their sides on the night. But it was Vishal Bhardwaj and the Super Tackles that really kept the Titans in the game, eventually helping to knot things up in the end.
The Titans could easily have suffered more than the single All Out, but staved them off with five Super Tackles in this game -- 10 crucial points in a rearguard effort. Vishal was responsible for three of them, Sombir and young raider Elangeshwaran chipping in with the other two. More importantly though, four of the five Super Tackles were on Rohit Kumar, the Bulls' captain and lead raider, sending him to the bench every time the Bulls threatened to break the game open.
The last of those came with just under two minutes left as Rohit was sent back to bring the Titans to within two, down 24-26. Vishal finished with 7 points on the night and the third-highest points scorer in the encounter.