PKL-12: Titans Secure Fifth Consecutive Win, Defending Champions Haryana Suffer Fifth Straight Loss

Telugu Titans defeated defending champions Haryana Steelers by a massive margin of 46-29 in the 71st match of Pro Kabaddi League (PKL) Season 12, played on Wednesday at Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium. This marked the Titans’ fifth consecutive victory, while Haryana endured their fifth straight defeat of the season.

Bharat played a pivotal role in Titans’ win, contributing 20 points overall — excelling both in raids and defense (4 points). Apart from him, Vijay Malik added eight points. Playing his 100th match, Haryana captain Jaideep picked up four tackle points, while Mayank contributed five raid points.

In his milestone 100th match, Bharat opened the scoring for Titans with a two-point raid. The defense followed up with two points of their own, giving Titans a 4-0 lead within the first three minutes. Captain Vijay’s two-point raid then reduced Haryana to just two players. Vinay earned a bonus point to open Haryana’s account, but soon after, Titans inflicted the first all-out, taking a commanding 10-2 lead.

After the all-out, Haryana’s defense dashed out Vijay, but Bharat retaliated immediately by eliminating three players. Titans’ defense then trapped Vinay as Haryana once again faced the threat of a second all-out within 10 minutes. Bharat picked up another point, but Mayank’s super raid rescued Haryana temporarily, preventing the all-out.

In the next sequence, Haryana executed a super tackle on Bharat, and Shivam’s successful raid narrowed the gap to 9-16. Titans, however, were soon down to two players. Shivam’s strong tackle on Prafull and Vinay’s next raid wiped out Titans completely, bringing the score to 14-16.

At this crucial stage, Bharat responded with another multi-point raid, extending the lead to 19-15. He then trapped Vinay with an ankle hold and dismissed Neeraj in the next raid, taking the score to 21-15 while completing his Super 10. Soon after, he tackled Mayank in a do-or-die raid and led Titans to their second all-out, making it 26-16.

Following that, Titans continued to dominate, scoring four consecutive points and pushing Haryana into another super tackle situation. Although Bharat was tackled by Jaideep in one raid, Vijay revived him quickly, and Bharat immediately sent Neeraj off the mat again, leading to another all-out and taking Titans to 37-20.

At this stage, Haryana coach Manpreet Singh seemed to accept defeat and substituted most of his key players. The Titans maintained their high level of play, again forcing Haryana into a super tackle position. In the closing moments, Haryana’s young players did manage to threaten an all-out against Titans, but the gap was simply too wide to bridge. Ultimately, Titans sealed a comprehensive 46-29 victory.