Following an incredible Super Raid in the closing seconds of their match at the SMS Indoor Stadium in Jaipur on Monday, Ganesha Hanamantagol stole victory from Telugu Titans’ jaws. As his team passed the Titans to take fourth place in the standings, he scored seven points after coming off the bench and performed the ideal supporting role to Alireza Mirzaian’s Super 10.
Both teams were going toe-to-toe throughout the cagey first ten minutes of the Southern Derby. The Bulls gained impetus from early raids by Akash Shinde and Bharat, while Yogesh and Deepak Sankar made sure their tackles held the Titans at bay.
Akash Shinde’s energetic raiding and Satyappa Matti’s timely defensive effort gave the Bulls the advantage, but Avi Duhan and Shubham Shinde’s successful tackles kept the Telugu Titans within touching distance. The fight was still open with the scoreboard showing 6-5, indicating an exciting battle to come.
In the second quarter, the Telugu Titans took charge thanks to an aggressive outburst spearheaded by Vijay Malik, who defeated Deepak Sankar and Ganesha with a game-changing multi-point raid. While Ajit Pawar and Ankit strengthened the defense to silence the Bulls’ raiders, Bharat supported it with incisive raids.
The Titans delivered the more powerful blows, despite the Season 6 champs’ best efforts to counter. Even as the Bulls responded with timely tackles from Yogesh and Deepak, Bharat maintained their lead because to their early raid victories and Vijay’s raid expertise. The Titans led 14–11 at the break, and the game was in a precarious position for a fierce second half.
The Bengaluru Bulls were promptly given the ALL OUT at the beginning of the second half when Shubham Shinde successfully tackled Pankaj and the captain then took out Deepak. Vijay then showed off his aggressive raiding skills, completing three successful raids in a row before Yogesh eventually stopped him.
The Titans maintained their lead throughout the third quarter, despite Alireza Mirzaian’s repeated successful raids to keep his squad alive. Ganesha offered him support, but Bharat also joined the group, snatching away Yogesh and Satyappa, among others. The Titans hoped to win easily with 10 minutes remaining, but fate had other ideas. The scoreboard showed 24-19 in their favor.
After an incredible raid by Alireza with seven minutes remaining, Ajit Pawar was handed a yellow card, sparking the Bulls’ comeback. In the very next attack, Sagar was taken out by the Iranian, leaving only Vijay on the mat. Sahil Rane tackled the Titans captain. The scores were tied at 27-27 after this outstanding series of plays cut the margin to just one point, which Alireza once again earned.
As the last minutes of the match saw the advantage swing between the two South Indian heavyweights, Bharat finished his Super 10 to put his team back ahead. In this instance, Alireza handed his side the lead with a multi-point raid, earning him another Super 10.
After Bharat received a bonus point, the Titans took the lead once more in the suspenseful match, but the season 6 winners weren’t finished yet. In a thrilling conclusion to the Southern Derby, Ganesha recovered the game in the final seconds to win their fourth consecutive match in what was the final raid of the match, a Super Raid.
