PKL5 Match 54 report: Telugu Titans 33-28 Tamil Thalaivas

Date: 31st August
Time: 8PM IST (3:30PM BST)
Venue: Dome@NSCI SVP Stadium, Mumbai
Zone: B

Line-ups

Telugu Titans: Vishal Bhardwaj, Rahul Chaudhari (C), Mohsen Maghsodlou (✈️), Nilesh Salunke, Rohit Rana, Sombir, Farhad Milaghardan (✈️).
Subs used: –.

Tamil Thalaivas: Amit Hooda, Ajay Thakur (C), K Prapanjan, C Arun, Anil Kumar, Darshan J., D. Pradap.
Subs used: Dong Geon Lee (✈️), M. Thivakaran.

Match Report

Tamil Thalaivas started really well Ajay Thakur with a running hand touch and K. Prapanjan also getting a raid point. Darshan J. was also doing well in defence scoring two tackle points, But then Telugu bounced back first with Sombir and then with Farhad Milaghardan, it was a story of two defenses in the first half with Sombir performing really well scoring two super tackles! One with a diving tackle and then another with the dash. Tamil Thalaivas got a point back when C. Arun got in a block and then Amit Hooda with the back hold. Little else happened in the first half the Telugu Titans leading by 12-10.

With Tamil Thalaivas down to just 3 players, Rahul Chaudhari secured the all out getting two touch points and the defence securing the all out. The Titans went ahead 17-12. Tamil Thalaivas picked up a couple of bonuses but the Titan defence continued to perform well and Sombir got in another ankle hold on K. Prapanjan and then Rohit Rana finished him off with the dash. Mohsen Maghsodlou then got a brilliant two point raid avoiding the incoming chain tackle. Telugu Titans winning 22-15 with 9 minutes to go.

Tamil Thalaivas came again Ajay Thakur scoring two raid points, and Mohsen Maghsodlou was tackled by an ankle hold from Darshan J. They closed the gap to within 3 points and knocked the Titans down to 3 players, but then Sombir got a double thigh hold on Ajay Thakur to pick up a super tackle and 2 points to the Titans. Prapanjan then revived Ajay Thakur and he picked up 3 raid points in a row and then a tackle on Nilesh Salunke secured the all out for Tamil Thalaivas. The score 28-26 to Telugu Titans still, with only 3 minutes left.

Farhad Milaghardan then got a dash on Ajay Thakur to move the lead to 3 points, K. Prapanjan then got a very quick hand touch on Rohit Rana and then Nilesh Salunke was tackled in a do or die raid as Tamil Thalaivas closed the gap to just 1 point. But Sombir picked up his 10th tackle point, the highest tackle points in a match in this season so far, and Vishal Bhardwaj picked up 2 late tackle points for the Titans, one with a dash and then with an ankle hold. Telugu Titans won the match 33-28.

Star Players

  • The best raider of the match was Ajay Thakur who got 7 raid points for Tamil Thalaivas.
  • The best defender of the match was Sombir who scored 10 tackle points for Telugu Titans, a season 5 record for most tackle points in a match so far.

Match Prediction

Prediction: Telugu Titans 32-30 Tamil Thalaivas
Actual result: Telugu Titans 33-28 Tamil Thalaivas

Correct result and very close scores predicted!

Analysis

 

Telugu Titans were fantastic in the defence today with Sombir picking up 10 tackle points! The best thing about the defence was the strong support after the initial tackle was made, Vishal Bhardwaj picked up 3 tackle points and Farhad chipped in with 2 tackle points as well. The Titans played really well on the do or die raids as they pinned down every Tamil Thalaivas’s raider on their do or die raids. Whilst Rahul Chaudhari struggled on the raid Nilesh Salunke picked up various bonus points and Mohsen Maghsodlou chipped in with a point or two. They say raiders win matches but it was the Telugu Titan defence that won them the match, in particular Sombir who picked up 10 tackle points with 100% success rate!

Tamil Thalaivas did well in defence keeping Rahul Chaudhari quiet and so too the other raiders. They played a higher defensive line on Rahul but they got the tackles by following close behind the raider when he changed direction to get the dash behind him whilst the corner pair came in with a chain tackle. Tamil struggled on the raid with Prapanjan only picking up 5 raid points and Ajay Thakur with 7 raid points, the lack of a third raider is hurting the Tamil Thalaivas.