Team Talk: A New Look U.P. Yoddha ‘Raid’y for Battle

U.P. Yoddha managed to form a strong team highlighted by top raiders Nitin Tomar and Rishank Devadiga in Season 5, that saw them all the way through to the Super Playoffs in what was their debut season. With the strong Jeeva Kumar as Cover, youngsters like Sagar Krishna and Nitesh Kumar got a free hand to tackle aggressively which worked well to the team’s advantage.

Season 6 will see Devadiga take over the reins of the team after successful showings for  India and Maharashtra over the previous season. He has been tasked with the responsibility of leading a young side and will relish the opportunities provided to him, both as a raider and a captain.

Team Highlights

Diverse Raiding Group

The U.P. Yoddha attack has raiders with different raiding styles that complement each other quite well. Devadiga’s aggressive approach coupled with Prashant Kumar Rai and Shrikant Jadhav’s watchful raiding makes the team a well-balanced raiding unit. The addition of Rohit Kumar Choudary, who can do well in Do-or-Die situations, and youngsters like Azad Singh give the attack an additional edge and unpredictability. This will also ensure that the burden of getting points doesn’t fall squarely on Devadiga and he can raid freely, knowing that there is a good chance he will get revived soon by his fellow raiders.

Young defensive unit

Season 5’s best defender for the Yoddha, Nitesh Kumar, along with the talented youngster Sagar Krishna held up the team’s defence nicely last season under the watchful eye of veteran Jeeva Kumar. The trio will be back again this season assisted by Nitin Mavi, Sachin Kumar and Amit. The young defenders of the team showed remarkable maturity last season in shoring up the defensive line even when Jeeva was off the mat. The team will hope the same maturity rubs off on the other new defenders this season and sees them through the Super Playoffs hurdle in Season 6.

Stating Stats

Wins – 8

Draws – 4

Losses – 11

Total points scored – 762 (60.49% from Raid Points and 26.38% from Tackle Points)

Total points conceded – 763

All-outs inflicted – 23

Most Successful Raider - Nitin Tomar with 167 Raid Points (Season 5)

Most Successful Defender- Nitesh Kumar with 47 Tackle Points (Season 5 – Current)

Form Guide   

1. In Season 5, U.P. Yoddha managed to reach the Super Playoffs stage in what was just their debut season before bowing out to Puneri Paltan in the first Eliminator.

2. P. Yoddha came in third in Zone A, outscoring Bengaluru Bulls, Telugu Titans and Tamil Thalaivas.

3. The team scored 461 Raid Points and were one among only 2 teams in Season 5 that averaged above 20 Raid Points per game.

4. With 165 Raid Points, U.P. Yoddha skipper Rishank Devadiga was the 9^th most successful raider of Season 5 and, during the league stages, also scored 28 Raid Points in a single game, which was then the season record.

5. U.P. Yoddha were the only team that managed to beat Patna Pirates at their home leg in Ranchi.