Naveen Kumar during raid against Haryana in PKL 2021-22
UP Yoddha beat struggling Telugu Titans 39-33 in a Pro Kabaddi League match here on Saturday. The Yoddhas were better in all departments with their raiders – Pradeep Narwal (10), Srikant Jadhav (7) and Surendra Gill (7) – picking up valuable points.
Telugu Titans had a scintillating opportunity to bounce back with an all out on Yoddha in the last minute, but skipper Rohit Kumar’s decision to go raiding backfired. Rajneesh and Ankit Beniwal scored 9-9 points for Titans, who are without a win in Season 8.
Telugu Titans did return Rohit Kumar in the opening 7 but it didn’t really add to the raiding efforts in the first half. Rajneesh and Ankit Beniwal showed glimpses of their immense potential, but the half was definitely the warrior, who had a clear plan for the Titans.
Their defensive corner pair of Sumit and Nitesh Kumar made life difficult for the young Telugu attackers after the opening raid.
At the other end, Pradeep Narwal, Shrikant Jadhav and Surender Gill took turns to snatch points from the defence. Together, they made the Titans all out and took a 3-point lead with 7 minutes to halftime. Yoddha managed the time very well on the mat and finished the half at the top with a score of 19-14.
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