New Delhi, Oct 18 (IANS) Telugu Titans secured their place in the top eight after a comprehensive 40-31 victory against the Puneri Paltan in Season 12 of the Pro Kabaddi League (PKL) at the Thyagaraj Indoor Stadium in New Delhi on Saturday.

Vijay Malik led the way with a Super 10, while Shubham Shinde recorded his second High Five of the season, as the Titans confirmed their place in the playoffs.

For Puneri Paltan, Sachin Tanwar scored nine points with defensive contributions from Vaibhav Rabade, Dadaso Pujari, and Mohd Amaan. However, that wasn’t enough for their team to get over the line.

Both teams didn’t waste any time setting the tempo of the game as Sachin Tanwar and Vijay Malik opened the scoring for their respective sides. Shubham Shinde and Vaibhav Rabade exchanged tackles as well, before the Telugu Titans got their noses in front with Bharat Hooda scoring a couple of multi-point raids, giving his side a five-point lead.

That gave the Titans the platform to inflict an ALL OUT courtesy of Shubham Shinde’s third tackle point. A couple of tackles from Ankit and Dadaso Pujari helped Puneri Paltan score a couple of points, but their backs were against the wall as Vijay Malik and Bharat Hooda continued to pile on the pressure.

Telugu Titans really began to assert their dominance with a second ALL OUT with Avi Duhan’s second tackle of the game. While table toppers kept the scoreboard ticking with raids from Stuwart Singh, and tackles Mohd Amaan and Dadaso Pujari, they couldn’t quite have a significant impact to close the gap. In a commanding first-half display, the Titans held a fifteen-point lead with the score at 26-11 at halftime.

Tackles from Ankit and Vaibhav Rabade to begin the second half kept the Titans in the lead. Meanwhile, Shubham Shinde completed his High Five with a Super Tackle, keeping them in the driver’s seat. However, the Puneri Paltan showed some resolve to fight back.

Sachin found some momentum on the raiding end, while Mohd Amaan contributed with three tackles, enabling the Paltan to enforce their first All Out to cut the deficit to twelve points. When it seemed like they had found momentum to force a comeback, Vijay Malik shut the door for them as the Titans captain completed his Super 10.

Despite Puneri Paltan’s best efforts in the second half, they fell short in the end. Keeping their twelve-point lead intact for a majority of the second half, Bharat Hooda added the finishing touches for Telugu Titans as they eventually prevailed 40-31 to secure a place in the top eight.

–IANS

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