U.P. Yoddha registered their second win in three games in the 56th match of the Pro Kabaddi League season 8 as they defeated Telugu Titans in a close contest. Record-breaker Pardeep Narwal was the backbone for UP as the star raider picked up ten raid points tonight.
After two consecutive defeats, UP Yoddha has caught form with two wins in their last three games. They have now made their way into the top six with this win. Telugu Titans fought well but UP held their nerves to clinch the game in the dying minutes of this contest. Raiders from both sides put up a fine display all through the match.
This win is particularly pleasing for the Uttar Pradesh-based franchise as contributions came from the entire unit. Titans have now crashed to their fifth successive defeat and continue to reel at the bottom of the table while Nitesh Kumar and his men have now moved to the fourth spot in the standings.
The Titans made a good start as they kept their lead in the starting minutes. Rajnish and Ankit Beniwal kept bringing in raid points but Shrikant Jadhav and Surender Gill soon undid all the hard work by Titans to keep UP in the hunt. Pardeep and Shrikant then ensured that their side got on top as UP enforced the first all-out of the game in the thirteenth minute.
Both teams relied on scoring raid points but the Titans’ defense looked out of sorts as their opponents managed to gain the lead. At half-time, the score thus read 19-14 in favor of UP Yoddha with Pardeep consistently scoring in the second half. For the Titans, Rajnish and Ankit Beniwal continued to bring in the points but Rohit Kumar and Adarsh T failed to impress with the Titans duo managing to pick up only four raid points in the entire game.
UP skipper Nitesh Kumar led the defense in the second half as he first trapped Ankit with an ankle hold for a super tackle. He soon completed his high-five to keep the Titans raiders in check and extend their lead.
But, the defense for the Titans put up a better show in the second half as UP was on the brink of an all-out. Pardeep was the last man on the mat for them three times and he successfully got in points on all occasions to help them evade the all-out.
Pardeep scored ten raid points with Surender Gill scoring seven as well. The strong trio of Pardeep, Surender and Shrikant helped UP seize the lead in the final minutes. Rajnish and Ankit scored nine raid points each for the Titans but no support from others meant that they failed to capitalize towards the end.
A super tackle by Shrikant also put the game in the bag for UP as they took a five-point lead with less than two minutes to go eventually holding on to win the game. Skipper Nitesh also scored seven tackle points with two super tackles, starring for his side on the evening.
UP will be pleased with this win as contributions came from Pardeep, Surender, Shrikant, Nitesh, and Sumit. They put up a good all-round display. Moving up the top of the table, they will hope that they can continue to put up a similar performance against Puneri Paltan in their next match on Monday at 7:30 pm.
On the other hand, the Titans will be disappointed as their search for a first win continues as they face Bengal Warriors next up on Monday at 8:30 pm.