PKL Season 11: Maninder’s heroics in vain as Telugu Titans reign supreme against Bengal Warriorz

Pune (The Uttam Hindu): Maninder Singh finished with 14 points for the Bengal Warriorz but his effort went in vain as the Telugu Titans won their clash 34-32 in a close and thrilling contest in Season 11 of the Pro Kabaddi League (PKL) at the Badminton Hall of the Balewadi Sports Complex on Saturday evening. The Telugu Titans, who are having their best-ever season in the competition, won the game with Vijay Malik scoring 11 points and Ashish Narwal adding 9 points to the cause. Manjeet got seven points of his own for the Bengal Warriorz but that too proved insufficient in securing victory. The Telugu Titans were out of the blocks faster than their opponents, but the Bengal Warriorz were staying within touching distance. It was neck and neck in the initial stages, as both sides traded blows. For the Bengal Warriorz, Manjeet was holding the fort in defence along with Fazel Atrachali, while Vijay Malik and Ashish Narwal were in charge of the Telugu Titans.

Midway through the first half, the Telugu Titans and the Bengal Warriorz were on level terms, with the Season 7 champions looking the better of the two sides. A three-point raid for Ashish Narwal gave the Telugu Titans some breathing space in the final minutes of the first half. After that though, Maninder Singh raided and landed a Super Tackle, to bring the Bengal Warriorz right back. At half-time, the Telugu Titans led 16-15. A Maninder Singh raid and a Dipak Shinde Super Tackle kicked off proceedings for the Bengal Warriorz in the second half, as they got their noses out in front in the early exchanges. However, the Telugu Titans fought back and levelled things quite quickly, and then proceeded to land an All Out on the Bengal Warriorz as well. At the half-hour mark, the Telugu Titans led the contest by two points, but Maninder had completed yet another Super 10, and the Bengal Warriorz were looking solid. Ashish Narwal then landed a four-point raid, to give the Telugu Titans a five-point lead, in what was becoming nothing short of a nail-biter of a game. From then on in, the Telugu Titans took control of the game, and heading into the final few minutes of the game, they had a 4-point lead. And even though Maninder tried his best to mount a comeback for the Bengal Warriorz, the Telugu Titans came away with the win.