New Delhi: Telugu Titans defeated defending champions Puneri Paltan by a commanding margin of 48-36 in the match No. 124 of the Pro Kabaddi League season 11 at the Balewadi Sports Complex in Pune on Friday, December 20.
Telugu Titans skipper Pawan Sehrawat once again led from the front to put his side in a commanding position as he bagged another Super 10 (15 points) to finish the league stage with 129 points in 13 matches. Ashish Narwal complemented the star raider by collecting 11 points as the duo managed to trounce the Paltan defence. Defender Ankit bagged six tackle points to lead the defence from the Hyderabad outfit.
The win helped Telugu Titans to move to seventh spot with 12 wins and 10 defeats from their stipulated 22 league matches, accumulating 66 points and a score difference of -40. The Pawan Sehrawat-led team has the same number of points as the sixth-placed U Mumba, who still has two more games to play in the league stage.
Despite their impressive win in their final outing in the PKL league stage, Telugu Titans have a very slim path to enter the knockout stage. The chances of making it to the knockouts for the Southern team only stands mathematically, though it may sound their campaign is all but done.
U Mumba’s Remaining Matches: The Key to Telugu Titans’ Playoff Fate
Telugu Titans have nothing to do by themselves to qualify for the PKL playoffs as the team has played all of its league matches (22) in this season. U Mumba will play table leaders Haryana Steelers on Sunday (December 22) followed by the last league game of the season against Bengal Warriorz on Tuesday (December 24).
In case, U Mumba happen to lose both their matches by a combined score difference of 65 then only Telugu Titans have a shot to claim the final spot in the PKL playoffs. All U Mumba needs is a point – which can be obtained through an outright win, a tie, or only by losing the match by less than seven points. Even if U Mumba lose their both matches, they must ensure they don’t lose it by a heavy margins.
It sounds unrealistic for a team in Kabaddi to lose two matches by more than 30 points in back-to-back matches.
Earlier in the day, Jaipur Pink Panthers became the fifth team in this PKL season to secure the playoffs berth following their narrow win against Bengal Warriorz with a 31-28 score line. Haryana Steelers, Patna Pirates, UP Yoddhas, and Dabang Delhi FC have already qualified for the playoffs. The final standings will be decided by December 24.
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