In a closely-knit contest, Siddharth Desai’s Telegu Titans handed U.P. Yoddha their first defeat at home. Playing on home soil at the Shaheed Vijay Singh Pathik Sports Complex, Greater Noida, Yoddha dominated their opponents for quite some time before the Titans made a strong comeback to finish the match with a 41-36 scoreline.

The match started with both teams carefully sneaking points through bonuses, but the Titans made an impact on the game with Siddharth Desai’s 2-point raid that handed our opponents a substantial lead.

Rishank and Shrikant quickly got into action to revive the team on court and reduce the lead. Nitesh took charge of the defence and kept scoring in the right corner.

Though the Titans led the game till the 15th minute of the first half, Rishank’s successful do-or-die raid levelled the scores, and Shrikant’s 2-point raid handed us the lead. With Ashu’s dash getting Titans all-out two minutes before half-time, Yoddha were strongly back in the game. At half time, Yoddha led the game 20-14, snatching the momentum away from the Titans.

Coming back from the break, Rishank and Shrikant looked even stronger and stole intelligent bonus and touch points which kept increasing the lead. Within the next five minutes, Yoddha handed Titans their second all-out. Rishank contributed even in tackles, pulling off a single-handed tackle.

Though Yoddha were sitting strong, leading with over 10 points, Siddharth Desai’s effort eventually brought Titans closer to equating points. With six minutes to go in the game, Desai’s back-to-back super raids reduced the point difference to only two.

Though Titans equated the scores in the 16th minute of the game, a super tackle by Mohsen Magsoudlou and Sumit brought Yoddha lead yet again.

With Farhad Milaghardan pulling off a 2-pointer, scores were levelled yet again. Monu Goyat was tackled in the following raid, Yoddha were all-out and the lead remained with the Titans.

With less than a couple of minutes remaining in the match, Yoddha were to reduce the lead and score more points. However, Titans’ strong presence on the mat helped them finish their final match of this season with a win.

Sumit put up a High-5 performance, while Shrikant and Rishank put up significant performances against Titans. Yoddha will face Bengaluru Bulls on Friday to conclude the home-leg.