Pro Kabaddi 2017: Rahul Chaudhari’s quest for personal accolade ends in defeat for Telugu Titans

Tamil Thalaivas skipper Ajay Thakur was completely overshadowed by Rahul Chaudhari in Friday's opening fixture. A day later, it was Chaudhari's chance to move to the shadows. One has to wonder, though, is that the shadow of Pardeep Narwal, or the number 500?

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Rahul Chaudhari chased his 500th raid point in Pro Kabaddi League which hurt his team.

Rahul Chaudhari didn’t seem to be affected by the fact that he was the center of attraction when Telugu Titans recorded a five-point win over Tamil Thalaivas in the opening match on Friday. On the contrary, he seemed to thrive in it as he led his team from the front. He ended that match with a Super-10, his 25th in the league and just eight points away from becoming the first to get to 500 raid points.

But, on Saturday, against defending champions Patna Pirates, he seemed to be seeing that record in front of his eyes more than the opponents while he was raiding. Where he was fearless in the first match, he was anything but against the Pirates. His opposite number, Pardeep Narwal, played to his strengths to devastating effect. His control of the ‘dupki’ was there for all to see when he performed a Super Raid towards the end of the match. That helped his team race to a 27-25 lead. A minute later, they inflicted an all-out on the home side which practically ended the contest. The final score was 35-29 in favour of the Pirates.

Telugu Titans’ victory over Tamil Thalaivas wouldn’t have been possible had it not been for the tenacity of Rahul Chaudhari while he goes for the raid. It was hence no surprise that Patna Pirates went for the tackle every time he came into their half of the court. That coupled with the pressure that he seemed to be in to reach the milestone of 500 raid points brought a certain vulnerability to his game and it was this that the Pirates exploited to the full. It meant that Chaudhari was almost completely ineffective in the second half.

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Towards the last five minutes of the second half, Pirates skipper Narwal started finding his feet. His Super Raid was a clear turning point as the Titans looked mentally depleted in the minutes after that. He scored one more point to take his team’s lead to six points and it ended up becoming the winning margin.

Tamil Thalaivas skipper Ajay Thakur was completely overshadowed by Rahul Chaudhari in Friday’s opening fixture. A day later, it was Chaudhari’s chance to move to the shadows. One has to wonder, though, is that the shadow of Pardeep Narwal, or the number 500?