Final chance at home win in the offing for Tamil Thalaivas against U Mumba

The final game of the Chennai leg will pit home side Tamil Thalaivas against U Mumba at the Jawaharlal Nehru Indoor Stadium on Friday. While Tamil Thalaivas will be aiming to end their home leg on a high with a victory, U Mumba will be looking to bounce back after their narrow loss against Haryana Steelers in their previous match.   

Match 55: Tamil Thalaivas vs. U Mumba

Head-to-head: U Mumba 2-1 Tamil Thalaivas. 0 Ties.

Tamil Thalaivas

Form Guide:

Played: 9

Won: 3

Tied: 2

Lost: 4

Win Rate: 33.3%

Best Raider: Rahul Chaudhari

Best Defender: Manjeet Chhillar

After an intense back-and-forth encounter, Tamil Thalaivas came out on the wrong side of the result against Jaipur Pink Panthers in their previous match on Wednesday. That loss meant that the match against U Mumba will serve as their final shot to avoid becoming the third team to finish their home leg with no victories. ‘Showman’ Rahul Chaudhari and ‘Iceman’ Ajay Thakur have accounted for just 29 raid points in the past three matches and, if the home side are to beat the defensively sturdy U Mumba outfit, their two superstar raiders will have to play a huge role. The defensive duo of Mohit Chhillar and Ran Singh lead the team’s tacklers with seven tackle points during their team’s home leg so far. The teams will hope for the return of their most successful defender this season - Manjeet Chhillar – in order to boost their chances of finishing with a flourish in Chennai.

U Mumba

Form Guide:

Played: 9

Won: 4

Tied: 0

Lost: 5

Win Rate: 44%

Best Raider: Abhishek Singh

Best Defender: Fazel Atrachali

U Mumba have managed four victories in their nine Season 7 matches but are yet to string together a run of two wins on the trot. While their raiding unit has averaged 15.56 points this season, only Abhishek Singh has had a huge impact on proceedings in the matches so far, with Rohit Baliyan and Arjun Deshwal contributing intermittently. While they do boast of a strong defensive unit spearheaded by ‘Sultan’ Fazel Atrachali, the team is averaging just 8.89 tackle points, which ranks 11^th in the season. U Mumba have won four of the five matches where they have a tackle strike rate of over 50%, while they have lost all but one of their fixtures where it has dropped under 50. Skipper Atrachali, alongside defensive stalwart Sandeep Narwal and Surinder Singh, hold the key to their team’s victory. If they are able to neutralise the threat that the opposition’s superstar raiding duo possesses in an efficient manner, chances are high that they will emerge victorious on the night.