In the first Southern derby match of the Vivo Pro Kabaddi Season VI, it was Telugu Titans that came out on top as they beat Tamil Thalaivas by 33-28. Telugu Titans opened their campaign with an impressive victory whereas Tamil Thalaivas suffered a second consecutive defeat. Rahul Chaudhari led from the front for Telugu Titans and was ably supported by Mohsen Maghsudlou and Nilesh Salunke. Chaudhari scored nine points and made crucial raids for the Titans. Ajay Thakur (9 raid points) and Amit Hooda (5tackle points) were the top players for Tamil Thalaivas but their effort wasn’t enough.
It was an evenly matched contest in the first few minutes of the first half. Athul MS got Tamil Thalaivas going with a raid in the second minute. Nilesh Salunke opened Telugu Titans’ raid account with a successfulone in the fourth minute to level the score at 2-2. Rahul Chaudhari got into the act with a two-point raid as Telugu Titans led 4-3 after six minutes.
Ajay Thakur responded with a two-point raid of his own for Thalaivas as they led 5-4. Both teams traded tackle and raid points in the next couple of minutes asit was 9-9 after 14 minutes.
Telugu Titans inflicted the first all out of the match in the 17 th minute as they led 16-9. Ajay Thakur made a successful raid in the 20 th minute as Tamil Thalaivas ended the first half trailing 11-17. Manjeet Chhillar was a rock at the back for Tamil Thalaivas as they mounted a comeback in the second half. After 25 minutes, Telugu Titans led 21-16 and the match hung in balance.
The fatigue was showing on Tamil Thalaivas as they played their third match in three days. Telugu Titans were the fitter team with their defence and raiders looking sharper.
It was a Titans Tuesday Tho for Rahul Chaudhari’s team as they maintained their composure in the last few minutes of the match and didn’t give Thalaivas a chance to make a comeback. Amit Hooda attained a high five in the last minute of
the match but it wasn’t enough.
Tamil Thalaivas made critical errors throughout the match and crashed to 28-33 defeat.