Pro Kabaddi League: Telugu Titans trounce Pink Panthers 35-23 to reach semis

Telugu Titans booked their place in the semi-finals of the ongoing Pro Kabaddi league with a convincing 35-23 win over Jaipur Pink Panthers here at Thyagaraj Sports Complex last evening.

Rahul Chaudhari scored 11 points and was well supported by Nilesh Salunke in attack to lead his side to a comfortable victory whereas Jaipur Pink Panthers looked lackluster throughout the game and rarely made their oppositions uncomfortable.

Telugu Titans have 45 points from 13 games while Jaipur Pink Panthers are in the second spot with 47 points from 14 games.

Rahul Chaudhari opened his and Telugu Titans' account in the second minute whereas Tushar Patil scored a raid point for Jaipur Pink Panthers as it was 1-1 after three minutes. Jaipur sent Rahul Chaudhari to the bench in fourth minute as both teams traded tackle and raid points in next few minutes. Jaipur Pink Panthers led 4-3 after 10 minutes but Rahul Chaudhari came back on in 11th minute to score a raid as Telugu Titans led 6-4.

Telugu Titans extended their lead by five points in 14th minute as Rahul Chaudhari scored his 100th point of the fourth season of Pro Kabaddi League. Telugu Titans inflicted the first all out of the match in 15th minute to lead 12-5. Jaipur Pink Panthers' defence struggled in the first half and scored their second tackle point to trail 7-13 after 18 minutes. Vinod achieved a high five for Telugu Titans in the first half and Nilesh Salunke scored with a super raid in the 20th minute as they went into the break leading 17-7.

Jaipur Pink Panthers made a strong start to the second half as they forced a super tackle in 23rd minute to trail 11-19. However, Telugu Titans inflicted an all out in16th minute as Telugu Titans opened a 13-point gap to lead 24-11. Jaipur Pink Panthers didn't put the opposition under too much pressure as they trailed 15-28 with less than 10 minutes to go.

Rahul Chaudhari scored with a super raid and attained his fifth super 10 of the season as Telugu Titans led 32-15. In the last five minutes, Telugu Titans took their foot off the pedal in the last five minutes as Jaipur Pink Panthers reduced the defeat margin. Tushar Patil scored eight points for Jaipur but his effort went in vain as they lost 23-35.