Mumbai Mumbai. Telugu Titans, without Pawan Sehrawat, stunned table-topper Haryana Steelers 49-27 in Match 61 of PKL 11 at the Noida Indoor Stadium on Monday. Stand-in captain Vijay Malik's 8 points were crucial, but the victory was led by raider Ashish Narwal, who completed his Super 10. Shankar Gadai also completed his High 5, while Rahul Sethpal's brother Sagar Sethpal also completed a High 5 with his defensive partner.
Telugu Titans dominated Haryana Steelers in the early stages of the match and took an early lead. In the absence of their captain Pawan Sehrawat, Ashish Narwal took charge of their raiding department while a combined defensive performance saw Haryana Steelers all out in the early stages. Due to this, the team coached by Manpreet Singh faltered and after 10 minutes of the game they were behind by six points.
Telugu Titans scripted the first half by putting pressure on their opponents. Vinay, who has been exceptional in the do-or-die raid this season, was unable to find his usual form while Mohammadreza Shadloi slipped in the lobby as mistakes piled up in Haryana Steelers' game. A second all out soon followed and with two minutes left in the first half the five-point lead swelled to 13 points, making the score 23–11 at the end of 20 minutes.
It was the third all out for Haryana Steelers, with stand-in captain Vijay Malik taking charge of the match. Once again supported by Shankar Gadai and Ashish Narwal, Telugu Titans started to take lead over Haryana Steelers – who are currently on top of the table.
Haryana Steelers needed to reduce the deficit to 15 points at the start of the last 10 minutes of the match, so the onus was on them. However, that did not happen as Telugu Titans continued their dominant performance till the victory. Ashish Narwal completed a Super 10 in the do-or-die raid, while Sagar completed his High 5 after a few moves, leaving Haryana Steelers all out for the fourth time, effectively ending the match.
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