The Telugu Titans defeated U Mumba 45-37 at the Vishwanadh Sports Club on Wednesday night, capping an outstanding Vizag leg. With 13 points, Bharat Hooda spearheaded the attack, and the Titans won their third straight game thanks to the solid supporting contributions of captain Vijay Malik (5 points) and Chetan Sahu (6 points).
Bharat was in control of the game after the home team got off to a solid start. He started with a multi-point raid, and then in a Do-or-Die raid, Chetan tackled Anil. In the sixth minute, Bharat gave U Mumba an ALL OUT with another multi-point attempt, this time during a Do-or-Die raid.
As the Season 2 victors were having trouble establishing themselves, Skipper Vijay joined the celebration right away following the ALL OUT with a successful raid on Rinku. Rinku tackled Bharat in response to Anil’s successful touch point off Ankit. The first phase of play ended with the score at 14-5 after Chetan struck again, dismissing Anil before turning raider and sending Vijay Kumar off the mat.
In the 14th minute, U Mumba was given another ALL OUT as the rampage continued in the second phase. The score was extended to 18–7, which was a significant blow. In the absence of their primary raider, Ajit Chouhan, only Satish Kannan appeared to be a bright spot for the Sunil Kumar-captained team.
In his team’s most recent match in Vizag, Bharat Hooda continued to inflict damage with a Super Raid that also elevated his Super 10. U Mumba was left reeling by his one-handed genius, and with the scoreboard reading 27-11 at halftime, they had a mountain to climb in the second half.
Sunil Kumar led U Mumba in a Super Tackle early on, and with a powerful move, he knocked down Bharat. However, they quickly began to make unforced mistakes that drove them to a third ALL OUT. Vijay, the captain, gained a touch point on Satish at that same moment.
Amirmohammad Zafardanesh, a substitute, was unable to improve his team’s performance as Bharat caught him as well, increasing the margin to 20 points. Vijay Kumar tackled Bharat to give U Mumba some much-needed rest after he finally broke through with a touch point on Avi Duhan. The scoreboard showed 39-21 at the completion of the third quarter.
For U Mumba, damage control was crucial with ten minutes remaining. Sandeep, a substitute, had an effect and helped his team score six raid points. However, the Titans weren’t finished yet; Ajit Pawar and Shankar Gadai worked together to pin Sandeep for a Super Tackle, increasing the home team’s lead even more.
After Zafardanesh removed Shankar and Ajit in a single raid, the Titans eventually gave up an ALL OUT and the game came to an end. Even though U Mumba made a valiant effort to close the difference to just eight points, the Telugu Titans won handily to end the home leg.
