Bengaluru Bulls vs Telugu Titans: Rivalry of the southern giants

Bengaluru Bulls and Telugu Titans have been among the most popular sides in the Pro Kabaddi League. Players from different states have made a mark playing for these franchises and have been welcomed with open arms. We have also seen the players treated as adopted sons because of their association with the teams from the region. Both teams have been a part of the PKL since its inception, but only Bengaluru Bulls have managed to lift the trophy in Season 6, whereas Telugu Titans' quest for PKL's ultimate glory is still on. Bengaluru Bulls and Telugu Titans have played 23 matches against each other. Bengaluru Bulls have secured 16 wins, whereas Telugu Titans have managed to secure three wins against Bengaluru Bulls. Four matches between these two sides ended in a tie.

Let us look at the best edge-of-the-seat encounters between these two sides in the Pro Kabaddi League.

Season 10, Match 39:

Telugu Titans headed into Match 39, Season 10 with a win in their previous game. The match was evenly balanced in the opening passage of the play. The score was level at 5-5 in the first 10 minutes. The Bulls and the Titans continued to exchange points.

With less than five minutes left in the first half, Bengaluru Bulls, who had a slender lead, managed to extend it by inflicting the first All-Out. Pawan Sehrawat led the Telugu Titans from the front, but their defence looked a bit sluggish and managed to secure only one tackle point. At the end of the first half, the Bulls were leading 16-12, courtesy of Bharat and Vikash’s brilliance in the raiding department.

Bengaluru Bulls continued to build on the momentum into the second half and put pressure on the Telugu Titans. With the last 10 minutes remaining in the game, the Bulls inflicted another All-Out to extend their lead to 27-17. They took total control of the game, and a Super Tackle from Saurabh Nandal gave them an eight-point advantage.

However, Pawan Sehrawat fought back for the Titans and removed Surjeet Singh, Saurabh Nandal, and Monu to inflict an All-Out on the Bulls and cut the deficit to only three points. Though the in-form Pawan was sent back to the bench by Surjeet Singh, the Titans tried their best to stay in the hunt. The Bulls maintained their slender lead till the end to clinch a thriller by a 33-31 scoreline.

Season 8, Match 26:

In Match 26 of Season 8, Pawan Sehrawat, the current skipper of the Telugu Titans, was seen on the other side of the mat, leading the Bengaluru Bulls against his former captain, Rohit Kumar, who was leading the Titans. The Titans started slightly better than the Bulls in the initial phase of the game and had a marginal lead.

The contest was evenly poised, with both teams giving it their all to claim points on the mat. Before the end of the first half, GB More and Mahender Singh combined to get rid of Rohit Kumar, handing Bengaluru Bulls a two-point lead. The halftime ended with the score reading 14-12 in favour of the Bulls.

Ankit Beniwal looked determined to bring his side back into the game, and the Titans managed to inflict the first All-Out. Both teams kept the scoreboard moving, and the Titans were still in the lead until the Bulls levelled the score at 22-22 heading into the final 10 minutes.

The game was evenly matched and could go either way with each passing raid. It was a Super Raid from Adarsh T in which he sent Mayur Kadam, Mahender Singh, and Pawan Sehrawat to the bench. With this multipoint raid, the Titans had a two-point advantage over the Bulls with under five minutes left. With just two men left on the mat for the Bulls, there was another twist in the tale as Saurabh Nandal pinned down the Titans’ man in form, Ankit Beniwal.

With Chandran Ranjit falling prey to the defence, the Titans took the lead courtesy of another All-Out. Their defence did well to add valuable points at the end stages of the game, and they were cruising towards victory. Pawan quickly returned with a touch point on Surinder Singh in the penultimate raid to cut down the deficit to only one point. Rohit attempted a running hand touch but was tackled down by his opposite number, Pawan, finishing the game in a tie.

Season 2, Semi-final 1:

Both teams were aiming for nothing less than a win when they met in Semi-final 1 of PKL Season 2. Both teams started the proceedings on a watchful note, looking to avoid any errors to not give away any free points to the opposition. The score was 5-5 at the end of the first 10 minutes of this do-or-die clash.

When Rahul Chaudhari was standing tall and getting raid points for the Titans, Deepak Hooda claimed a Super Tackle with a block on Ajay Thakur. On the other hand, Dharmaraj Cheralathan was at the top of his game for the Bulls with his excellent tackles. Manjeet Chhillar and Ajay Thakur were equally well supportive, who were chipping in with crucial points. Towards the end of the first half, the Bulls enforced an All-Out to have a six-point advantage over the Titans.

With only five minutes into the second half, the Bulls inflicted another All-Out to extend their lead. The Titans were pushed on the back foot and were desperate to make their way back into the game. Soon after, the Titans got a Super Tackle on Ajay Thakur with a combined effort from the defence.

The scorecard read 30-15 in favor of the Bulls with 29 minutes completed in the contest. The Titans' defence looked promising as they produced three Super Tackles on the Bulls in quick succession. Sandeep proved to be handy for the Titans in the raiding department. He got two raid points when his side was on the verge of another All-Out.

Manjeet Chhillar was trapped by the Titans, adding another Super Tackle to their tally, which helped them cut down the deficit. Telugu Titans made a fantastic turnaround and produced an All-Out with less than a minute left in the match to trail by just 2 points. With the score reading 39-37 in the Bulls’ favour, Manjeet made a smart move in the final raid and gave away a touch point to Rahul Chaudhari to ensure a win and a ticket to the finale for his side.

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