U Mumba lock horns with Telugu Titans in the Pro Kabaddi League at the Rajiv Gandhi Port Stadium in Vizag on Sunday.
U Mumba are top of the table now but are barely holding on to their lead. Jaipur Pink Panthers are in second place, with two games in hand. To add to that, the Panthers are in tremendous form. If they beat Patna Pirates today and U Mumba lose, Mumbai will drop to second place.
Going into this game, U Mumba are the favourites but not outright ones. After losses to Bengaluru Bulls and Dabang Delhi in their last two games, they have lost some of the momentum and the aura of dominance that they had early on.
They floundered defensively in both these games and this is definitely a worrying factor. In the Delhi game, both sides were neck and neck at half-time. In the second half, U Mumba were all over the place.
As expected Mumbai found Surjeet Narwal and Kashiling Adake, particularly the former, very hard to contain. They lost the game at crucial points, especially in the second half. This cost them dear as Delhi attacked at will.
In U Mumba's game against Bengaluru, Manjit Chillar's efforts gave the Bulls the win right at the end. The boys from Mumbai need to tighten up their defence, otherwise a dangerous raider such as Rahul Chaudhari can find them out.
U Mumba's policy has been to go hard at other sides right from the beginning and that paid dividends for them. They will probably look to continue this and push the Titans on to the back foot. A lot rests on skipper and raider Anup Kumar's shoulders.
The Titans, who have not set to the tournament on fire, did well in their last encounter against Bengaluru as they managed to tie the game. They would, however, be disappointed they could not go ahead and win the game. At one point they had a five-point lead. Chaudhari was instrumental in giving them the lead. In the end though the Bulls hit back and tied the game.
Their defence needs to be bolstered. Against a fantastic and aggressive outfit such as U Mumba, the defence cannot afford to be caught napping. They should expect U Mumba to go at them early. The presence of defender Deepak Hudda will be important. How he fares against Anup and company will have a bearing on the game. In attack, Chaudhari will look to continue his good from and unsettle the U Mumba defence.
The last time U Mumba and Jaipur squared off, the result was a tie. This time both sides will dearly love a win.
Where to Watch Live
U Mumba play the Telugu Titans at 9:00pm. Star Sports will air the match. Live coverage will comence on Star Sports HD 2 after the first match. This is the link for the live streaming option on starsports.com.
