Tamil Thalaivas vs Telugu Titans, Pro Kabaddi League 2018 Highlights: As it Happened

TELUGU TITANS WIN: This has been a convincing 33-28 win for Telugu Titans and they need to keep up the good work in rest of the tournament. 

The match has come to a hold. Titans are taking their own sweet time in between the raids that is distracting Thalaivas. Another tackle point makes 31-25 in favour of Titans.

We are nearing the end of the match with just three minutes to go. Titans lead 27-23 at the moment and need to just close the match well. Defence needs to be solid till the end and cannot take the opposition lightly. 

Thakur is back on the court and gets a raid point finally. But Thalaivas need a lot more of that. In the second half Thalaivas have reduced the deficit to 4 points. It's 25-21 at the moment. 

Still 10 minutes left in the match and Thalaivas do have a chance to make a comeback with Ajay Thakur in their ranks. But it hasn't been his night till now. Titans lead by 24-17.

Titans have this match under control. They just need to concentrate on tight defence. That will propel the opposition to make mistakes. Titans get another point. It's 22-16 now.

Titans' defence has slowed the game down and is not allowing Ajay Thakur to get into his groove. Titans are marching ahead with 19-14.

FIRST HALF: Vishal Bharadwaj's captaincy has been a game changer for Titans who suffered heavily last season. In the first half they have pinned down their opponents and taken a healthy lead of 17-11.

And now that's an all out by Telugu Titans. They add three more points to their kitty. A superlative effort by the Titans. They lead 16-9. 

After long Rahul Chaoudahri comes back on the court and that could be a big boost for Titans. They need couple of big raids to stamp their authority in the match. But for now 12-9 in favour of Titans. 

Both the teams have been excellent in defence and most of the points have come through bonus touches. The score stands at 9-9.

The match has been pretty well balanced at the moment as both the teams are getting points at the moment. The score reads 8-7 currently.  

It's Rahul's chance to raid and he gets out of the hold of Manjeet Chillar. That is a great raid by him. He puts Titans in the lead. It's 4-3 in the favour of Men in Yellow. 

Nilesh Salunke gets the first raid points for Titans. He will be a key along with Rahul for Titans' chances. It;s 3-2 in favour of Thaliavas. 

And the match gets underway. Thalaivas are off with two points as Titans look for their first. It's 2-0 for Thalaivas. 

All eyes will be on Rahul Chaudhari who has been the star for Telugu Titans. He has been the best raider in PKL's history and it's a chance for him to prove his worth once again.  

Iran's right corner defender Abozar Mohajermighani, who was a key cog in Gujarat Fortunegiants' run to the final last season, was bought for Rs 75 lakh as was his compatriot and right cover Farhad Milaghardan. ​Mohajermighani and all-rounder Vishal Bhardwaj will be tasked with guarding the corners whereas Milaghardan and Rakesh Kumar Singh will be in the covers. Should this defensive unit gel early, the Titans will have a solid foundation for their raiders to build on. 

He has 666 raid points overall as well as 543 successful raids over five seasons of the PKL. Aside from that, he also leads the charts in most number of Super 10s. However, the Titans’ biggest drawback last season was the lack of a solid defence. They worked hard to plug the holes in their side in the auction and at present have a squad that could easily challenge for the title.

The Telugu Titans have never once lifted the coveted Pro Kabaddi trophy despite having one of the biggest stars of the league in Rahul Chaudhari on their roster since the beginning of the tournament.  Chaudhari is loved in the city of Hyderabad and it isn’t hard to see why. Aside from possessing charisma and charm that make sporting stars into superstars, he’s also statistically the league’s best raider. Hello and welcome to the live blog of the match between Tamil Thalaivas and Telugu Titans.