Ahmedabad: An intense battle between Bengal Warriors and Telugu Titans eventually finished in a 29-29 tie at the EKA Arena by TransStadia in Ahmedabad on Monday. This was the fifth tie between these two sides, making this the most tied fixture in the history of Pro Kabaddi League.
Telugu Titans, courtesy of their defence and the Desai brothers, Suraj and Siddharth, got off to a strong start and took an early two-point lead in the contest. They maintained that lead till midway in the first half, but a run of points from Bengal Warriors levelled the scores at 7-7. Amit Kumar and Suraj helped Telugu Titans reduce Bengal Warriors to just three men on the mat, but a picture-perfect Thigh Hold from Mohammad Nabibakhsh on Siddharth levelled the scores yet again.
In the final moments of the half, Suraj was Dashed out, but a review from Telugu Titans revealed that the raider had stepped out of bounds before getting a touch on a defender. This meant that Suraj, along with three defenders that entered the lobby, were rendered self-out and the two teams headed into the half-time break with the southerners leading 13-11.
Telugu Titans inflicted the All-Out and took a five-point lead at the start of the second half. But Bengal Warriors responded to the setback by scoring three unanswered points to get some momentum on their side.
A couple of minutes later, Bengal Warriors inflicted the All-Out as they took the lead for the first time in the contest. That lead, however, did not last long as Telugu Titans’ defence levelled the scores and Siddharth put them up by one point with seven minutes left in the contest. In the final minute of the contest, Armaan came in to raid and successfully scored a bonus before being tackled by Rinku Narwal as each team earned a point and the scores remained level.
Given the precarious nature of the contest, neither Maninder nor Suraj ventured too deep into the opposition half in the final two raids of the contest and the clock expired, confirming another tie between these two sides.