U.P. Yoddha outclass Telugu Titans on debut

The stage was set. The pressure was on. ‘Raid Machine’ Rahul Chaudhari’s Telugu Titans had to prove they were more than a one-match wonder in their home leg and U.P Yoddha’s Nitin Tomar had to justify his price tag. In the end, it was the visitors who emerged victorious as Telugu Titans slumped to their biggest loss of the season yet, losing by a mammoth 13 points in front of their home crowd at the Gachibowli Indoor Stadium in Hyderabad on Tuesday, shortly after another debutant Gujarat Fortunegiants had upset Dabang Delhi K.C.

The first half was, however, a tight affair. Tomar kept trying to exploit the right corner of Telugu Titans which was vulnerable in previous matches but the Titans had learned their lessons and were in no mood to give away easy points in defence. The Yoddha defence reciprocated in kind and kept Chaudhari off the mat late in the first half, which resulted in them maintaining a slender lead going into half time at 12-11.

The second half saw the arrival of Nilesh Salunke who had been doing well for Telugu Titans so far. Chaudhari also started playing like a man on a mission showing tremendous pace and skill. It looked like the Titans might turn up the heat in this half. However, a 7^th-minute super raid by Surender Singh cemented U.P. Yoddha’s authority on the match. They followed it up with an All-Out soon after and it gave them a huge 23-14 advantage. The match kept slipping away from the grasp of the Titans from there as they weren’t able to halt the U.P. Yoddha march in spite of a valiant effort from Chaudhari. U.P.Yoddha were the dominant team on the night which surely reflected in the final scoreline (31-18).