Telugu Titans host U Mumba in VIVO Pro Kabaddi Season 7 curtain-raiser

The wait for Season 7 of VIVO Pro Kabaddi finally comes to an end this Saturday with Telugu Titans squaring off against Season 2 champions U Mumba at the Gachibowli Indoor Stadium, Hyderabad in the opening match. The new season will see all teams play each other twice in a double round-robin format with Telugu Titans being the home team during the first leg. Telugu Titans will be eager to get off to a flying start in their own backyard and set the foundation for a successful season. U Mumba, too, will be hoping to get winning momentum on their side in a bid to better their Playoff stage finish from last year.

Match 1: Telugu Titans vs U Mumba

Head-to-head: Telugu Titans 4 – 4 U Mumba. 2 Ties.

Telugu Titans

Telugu Titans will be hungry for success and have pinned their hopes on Season 6’s Best Debutant award winner ‘Baahubali’ Siddharth Desai to lead their offence. Desai scored 218 raid points for U Mumba last year and finds himself playing against his former team in Season 7’s curtain-raiser. Telugu Titans will want him to replicate his exploits from the last campaign and hope that he’s well-supported by all-rounder Farhad Milaghardan. Their defence, meanwhile, boasts of an abundance of talent. The powerful Corner duo of Vishal Bhardwaj and Abozar Mohajermighani, who finished first and second in last season’s Super Tackles leaderboard with 9 and 8 Super Tackles respectively, will be a difficult proposition for any opposition raider. The addition of C. Arun to their ranks also gives them a variety of options to call upon, if needed.

U Mumba

U Mumba will be keen to clinch their second VIVO Pro Kabaddi trophy this season, having bowed out in the Playoffs last year. The Season 2 champions possess a solid defence, led by the fearless ‘Sultan’ Fazel Atrachali. However, the Iranian isn’t the only ace in U Mumba’s ranks. All-rounder Sandeep Narwal, who leads VIVO Pro Kabaddi’s all-time Super Tackles chart, and Cover defender Surender Singh, along with Young Chang Ko, can all contribute for them in defence. In the raiding department, Rohit Baliyan could assume the mantle of the side’s lead raider, with the support of Dong Geon Lee, who has also proven himself as a capable raider in the past. With so much young talent, we may very well see another star emerge from U Mumba by the end of the season.