Pro Kabaddi League 2017 Season 5: Telugu Titans skipper Rahul Chaudhari accepts his team has lost control

​

Rahul Chaudhari (right) cut a frustrated figure after the match

​

Tuesday's first Pro Kabaddi League encounter saw the Telugu Titans relinquish a massive 10-point lead against the Bengal Warriors in incredible fashion. Rahul Chaudhari and co. imploded in the final seven minutes of the match, much to the disgust of their coach, Naveen Kumar, who was absolutely livid after the match.

When Nilesh Salunke pulled off a monster four-point super raid, a win seemed imminent for the Titans. However, his teammates completely disintegrated as they let the Warriors claw back into the game, courtesy some horrible defending and planning.

To make matters worse, Bengal's Jang Kun Lee scored a point in the final raid of the match to win the game. In doing so, he ensured Telugu Titans left the stadium with a memory that will surely haunt them for quite some time.

Captain Rahul Chaudhari cut a deflated figure after the game. "The game became very quick in the final five minutes and we lost control. The match was going fine but the way we conceded those points in the final minutes was miserable."

"The final raid was a do-or-die raid, so the raider had to score a point. Our defenders were in a hurry. We tried tackling Lee before he even attempted a bonus and that proved very costly," he said.

Chaudhari surprisingly also executed an ankle hold on Bengal's Maninder Singh during the match. Telugu's star man isn't known for his defensive prowess and it was refreshing to see him help the team out but in vain.

"After your raids, one needs to help the team in defence as well. It was necessary for me to attempt those tackles since they were attempting a bonus point regularly," he stated.

Titans coach Naveen Kumar looked furious with his players after the match. But he refused to accept that the Titans are now all but out of the tournament. While he did admit today's loss was damaging, he still has hopes from his players.

"We've lost a lot of matches and after taking such a big lead, we're losing. Even if we lose one match from now on, we will fall further back. This is a huge loss but we are not out yet. We have seven matches remaining," he signed off.

The Telugu Titans have now played 15 matches and have lost 10 of those. As a result, they find themselves languishing at the bottom of the points table in Zone B. They are slated to face the Patna Pirates in Ranchi on 15th September next, in what promises to be a mouth-watering clash between two of the league's best raiders -- Rahul Chaudhari and Pardeep Narwal.

​

​