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Two teams with contrasting campaigns till now will face each other in the first match of Saturday as UP Yoddha prepare to play Telugu Titans in the zone B match of the Pro Kabaddi League. The Telugu Titans are still searching for their second win of the tournament after not winning anything after their tournament opener.
The Uttar Pradesh franchise has just played three games till now and there is still an air of unpredictability about them that can give them the edge ahead of their match against the Telugu Titans on Saturday.
LIVE COMMENTARY: Telugu Titans vs UP Yoddha, August 12 2017
The Titans' strength has always been one man – Rahul Chaudhari. That’s proving to be their weakness now. The team over relies on Chaudhari and in doing that puts him under pressure. Like most teams with a star raider in PKL Season 5, Titans also suffer from the lack of a second reliable raider.
Nilesh Salunke hasn’t done complete justice to his potential. 31 raid points from 7 games aren’t bad numbers for a raider but more is expected out of Shinde. In the defence, Vishal Bhardwaj with his boyish looks is doing things even men are finding hard to belief.
But even with Bhardwaj, the problem is of support. Rohit Rana has been embarrassingly poor this season. Despite being on the Pro Kabaddi circuit for so long, his school boy errors during the opposition’s Do or Die raids have cost the team dearly on more than one occasion. The others in team haven’t stepped up when the need has arisen. That’s why the modus operandi of most teams have been to give their all in taking Rahul Chaudhari out of the equation and prey on the rest with a helpless Chaudhari watching from the sidelines.
For UP Yoddhas, this game presents an opportunity to start afresh after their heavy loss to Bengal Warriors. Since its still early days for the team, the management is still busy trying new combinations for them.
While Pardeep Narwal, Rahul Chaudhari and Rohit Kumar have provided some fireworks, the stage is set for Rishank Devadiga to show some of his own for his new franchise when they play against Telugu Titans.
UP Yoddha vs Telugu Titans Match Prediction
After losing to Patna Pirates in the fifth match, the Telugu Titans came very close to winning their last encounter against Bengaluru Bulls which ended as a tie. If they can carry the momentum from that match into their encounter against UP Yoddha, their second win is not too far from them.
But the Uttar Pradesh franchise has already won a contest against Telugu Titans and will be itching to inflict the same ignominy again, albeit at a different venue this time around. So, the UP Yoddha will begin as favorites in the match.
