Right corner Sagar clinched 9 tackle points as he helped Tamil Thalaivas defeated Telugu Titans 43-25 in the second match of Day 5 in Pro Kabaddi League Season 8’s Rivalry Week.
Sagar needed very little help from his teammates as he single-handedly kept the Titans raiders quiet in the Southern Derby. Sahil Gulia in the left corner picked up 4 points while raiders Ajinkya Pawar (10 points) and Manjeet (9 points) excelled in the one-sided victory.
Telugu Titans were once again without sufficient quality across the mat. The absence of Siddharth Desai and Rajnish cost them dearly as they remained with just one win in the season. Thalaivas’ win – their second in as many matches – will give them much-needed confidence in their pursuit of a playoff spot.
Defence dominated the early minutes of the Southern Derby with both sides not giving an inch. The Telugu Titans, despite just having one win in the season so far, were in no mood to let Thalaivas settle. Sandeep Kandola and Akash Choudhary were cautious in the corners for the Titans while Sagar was insatiable in the Thalaivas’ left corner. The game shifted in balance towards the Tamil team in the 15th minute when Manjeet scored a 3-point Super Raid. That helped Thalaivas clinch an All Out and open an 8-point lead. Things got worse for the Titans who saw their captain Rohit Kumar limp out with a suspected knee injury. By the end of the first half, Thalaivas raced to a 12-point lead with the scores 22-10.
Sagar raced to a High 5 as Tamil Thalaivas slowed the pace of the match in the second half. They knew the pressure was on the Titans to chase and the Tamil raiders played for the Do-or-Die raids. Rohit Kumar continued to be on the mat despite visible discomfort to his knee. The pressure put by Tamil Thalaivas worked well for the team as it forced Titans to commit unnecessary mistakes. Sagar moved to 7 tackle points as the team from Chennai opened a 14-point gap with 10 minutes on the clock.
Thalaivas got their second All Out with 5 minutes to increase the lead to 20 points. Ajinkya Pawar clinched his Super 10 and Sagar moved to 9 tackle points in the final minutes as the Tamil team went on to seal the victory in the Southern Derby.
Featured photo: Pro Kabaddi
