A successful raid in the final minute by skipper Rahul Chaudhari helped Telugu Titans stage a fine comeback and win 32-30 against host Bengal Warriors in the 10th match of the ProKabaddi League at the Netaji Indoor Stadium here on Thursday.
Trailing 27-30 till the 38th minute, Titans picked up five points in remaining time to spoil Warriors’ party.
Incidentally, Warriors had rallied past defending champion Jaipur Pink Panthers 28-26 in the final minutes of their encounter on Wednesday.
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Warriors deflated the Titans in the first half with South Korean raider Jang Kun Lee breaking through the visitors’ defence. Lee showed good athleticism and escaped the grip of the Titans’ defenders while scoring six points.
His best effort came in the last minute of the opening half when he took out three Titans defenders and propelled Warriors to a 16-10 lead at half-time.
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Warriors made early gains, scoring a ‘lona’ (all out) in the 13th minute; their defence, too, did a good job under the leadership of the seasoned Nilesh Shinde.
Titans, who made a determined bid after the change of ends, nosed ahead for the first time in the contest in the 35th minute.
They earned a ‘lona’ and pushed the score to 27-26 at this stage.
Two minutes later, Lee’s super raid made it 30-27 for Warriors, but there was a twist in the tale as Titans tightened their defence to catch the elusive Lee in the 39th minute and reduce the margin to a single point (30-29).
Rahul, who made little impression earlier in the game, showed his class with a successful raid in the final minute. He got two Warriors’ defenders out to help Titans move ahead 31-30.
The Titans’ defence then snapped Sunil Jaipal’s raid to make it 32-30, and completed a remarkable turnaround.
Lee was the ‘best raider’, scoring 12 points from eight successful raids.
This was the third successive win for Titans, who have 15 points and continued to occupy the second spot.