Pro Kabaddi League 2019: Preview: Telugu Titans look to bounce back against U Mumba

Telugu Titans will look to avenge campaign opening loss against U Mumba (Image Courtesy: Pro Kabaddi)

Kolkata, September 10: Telugu Titans will look to bounce back from defeat in Pro Kabaddi League 2019 clash against U Mumba at the Netaji Subash Chandra Bose Indoor Stadium in Kolkata on Tuesday (September 10).

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The ninth-placed Telugu Titans suffered a narrow defeat to Bengaluru Bulls in their last encounter, while seventh-placed U Mumba tied with Puneri Paltan.

In the reverse fixture, which was the season opener, U Mumba got the better of Telugu Titans with a scoreline of 31-25. So, they will hope for a repeat, while their opponents Telugu Titans will look to even the scores as the head-to-head battle is also in U Mumba's favour.

Telugu Titans may have lost the last encounter, but their star raider Siddharth Desai came into his own with a 22-point raid game including a super raid of four defenders which inflicted a all-out on Bengaluru Bulls in the dying moments of the match. But, they had to settle for a loss due to Pawan Sehrawat's last-minute heroics.

However, they will have something positive to take from that performance by Siddharth and will hope he carries his form in the clash against U Mumba.

In the defence, Telugu Titans were rock solid thanks to Vishal Bharadwaj, but his performance against Bengaluru Bulls will be a cause for concern as he claimed just a solitary tackle point.

Vishal Bhardwaj has scored the most tackle points (49) and has been the best among defenders this season. So, the Titans will hope the last game was a one off for their star defender, who will be suppoted by Abozar Mohajermighani.

U Mumba, on the other hand, have won just under half their matches in Season 7 and lost just as many. They have failed to keep their positive momentum going after a successful result which could be worrying for them moving forward.

Abhishek Singh's return was much needed for the side and he's delivered with Super 10s in both the team's previous encounters. Athul MS and Arjun Deshwal have been good in parts and will want to be more consistent going forward. The raiders will be especially vital given the form of Telugu Titans' defence in recent times.

In defence, U Mumba boast a potent Corner duo of 'Sultan' Fazel Atrachali and all-rounder Sandeep Narwal. However, coming up against an in-form 'Baahubali', who has previously played with them in Season 6, could prove to be a different challenge altogether. How U Mumba deal with him is likely to dictate which way the match goes.

Game starts at 7.30 PM IST

Live Channel: Star Sports 2 and Star Sports 2HD

Live Stream: HotStar

Source: Pro Kabaddi