Siddharth Desai was in his good form as he helped Telugu Titans thrash Jaipur Pink Panthers 51-31 in the final match of Pro Kabaddi League’s Jaipur-leg on Friday. The star raider scored 22 points as Titans showed the Pink Panthers no mercy in front of a packed audience at the Sawai Mansingh Stadium.

Jaipur’s Nilesh Salunke reached 300 raid points milestone and Sandeep Dhull crossed 200 tackle points but that was the only good news for the home side from the match as they struggled to contain Siddharth Desai for the entire match.

Advertisement

A fiercely contested first half saw both sets of raiders dominating the mat. Telugu Titans started on the front foot with Siddharth Desai looking his unstoppable best. But for the Pink Panthers, the duo of Deepak Hooda and Deepak Narwal were also looking sharp.

The reason why the raiders had it easy in a high-scoring half was the poor show of the corners. For the home side Pink Panthers, Sandeep Dhull in the left corner had a horror outing and was sent to the dugout six times by Siddharth Desai.

In fact, Siddharth spared no one, as he cruised to 13 points in the first half from his nine raids. His three-point Super Raid with under four minutes left to half time gave the Titans a four-point lead but the raider made an unforced an error, entering the lobby without a touch, which handed Jaipur a Super Tackle in the final minute of the half and prevented an All-Out. The half ended 17-15 with Titans on top.

The Titans and Siddharth Desai were in no mood to let the Pink Panthers come back into the game though and the raider ensured his team secured their first All-Out of the match in the third minute of the second half. The All-Out opened up a 5-point lead but when Siddharth Desai is in form, there is no defender in Pro Kabaddi League who can stop him.

The one-man wrecking-ball crushed through the Jaipur defence and secured another All-Out in the 7th minute of the half to open up a 13-point lead. There was no coming back for Jaipur and the demoralized unit suffered another All-Out with less three minutes remaining in the match. The Titans’ defence ensured there were no slip-ups in the final minutes to secure a win.

The bad result at home meant Jaipur’s chances of qualifying for the playoffs also significantly reduced. The Pro Kabaddi caravan now shifts to Panchkula where Haryana Steelers will look to impress in front of their home crowd and seal a playoff berth.