Hyderabad, Nov 10 (UNI) A dramatic finish saw the Telugu Titans close out the Hyderabad leg with a well-deserved 34-33 win over Puneri Paltan at the GMCB Indoor Stadium, Gachibowli, here.
In what was their fourth straight win of season 11 on Saturday night, the Telugu Titans were guided by their skipper Pawan Sehrawat’s 12 points and Vijay Malik’s 13 points, which eventually took the home team to second on the points table.
In a match that saw the raiders rule the roost, Pankaj Mohite for the Puneri Paltan secured the first Super Raid of the game.
Soon after, Mohit Goyat completed a Super Tackle as well, as the defending champions took an early lead. This form continued throughout the first 10 minutes, as Sanket Sawant’s tackle on Vijay Malik inflicted an ALL OUT on the home team Telugu Titans.
Despite this, the Telugu Titans had Pawan Sehrawat in his usual raiding form, and he ensured that his team were in the game.
The hi-flyer completed his Super 10 – his sixth of the season – with four minutes left in the second half. This helped his team take the lead and also inflicted the ALL OUT on Puneri Paltan. A riveting first half saw the score level at 20-20 at the end.
As both sides exchanged the lead between themselves, they were cautious about their performance in the second half.
For Puneri Paltan, Pankaj Mohite was their main aggressor yet again, but he was supported by the likes of fellow raider Mohit Goyat and defender Abinesh Nadarajan.
However, Pawan’s magnificent moves kept the Telugu Titans afloat throughout the second 20 minutes of the match.
With the match entering a very important stage, the Telugu Titans, who had the lead, were inflicted with an ALL OUT with little over two minutes left to the end of the match.
Vijay Malik was the second Telugu Titans player to score a Super 10, but at the end, defender Ajit Pawar got Ajith Kumar off the mat, to give the home side a one-point lead, which was enough to seal the victory.
