PKL 2021: UP Yoddha v/s Telugu Titans - Preview, Expected 7, Live streaming, Players to Watch out, Head to head, Key battle

Strategic Takeaways

UP Yoddhas were in a commanding position against Haryana Steelers in their previous fixture but they lacked the finishing and had to share match-points in a settled tie. Coach Jagdish Kumble must have created a season eight blueprint around the likes of Siddharth Desai, Rohit Kumar and Sandeep Kandola and the absence of these three pillars has been a major blow for the Telugu franchise.

Head to Head

The Yoddhas from Uttar Pradesh has an edge over the Yellow Brigade in the head-to-head count. Telugu Titans emerged victorious against robust UP in their previous encounter despite having a forgettable season seven campaign. Siddharth 'Bahubali' Desai who is still recovering from an arm injury scored 15 raid points in that clash. Meanwhile, UP's star corner duo of Nitesh-Sumit claimed a combined total of nine tackle points.

Overall H2H record:

8 - Matches

4 - UP Yoddha

2 - Telugu Titans

2 - Tie

When to watch?

It is the second battle of matchday 25 of the PKL season eight. The encounter is expected to begin at 8:30 PM IST just right after the successful conclusion of the first match between Haryana Steelers and Dabang Delhi KC on the 15th January of 2022.

Live Streaming

All the matches are expected to be broadcast on the Star Sports Network on television. You can also tune in to Disney+Hotstar for live streaming.

Expected 7

UP Yoddha:

Pardeep Narwal (Raider)

Surender Gill (Raider)

Shrikant Jadhav (Raider)

Shubham Kumar Baliyan (Left Cover)

Ashu Singh (Right Cover)

Sumit Sangwan (Left Corner)

Nitesh Kumar (Right Corner)

Squad: Nitesh Kumar (C), Pardeep Narwal, Shrikant Jadhav, Surender Gill, Gulveer Singh, James Kamweti, Aman Hooda, Ankit Ghanghas, Mohammad Taghi, Rohit Tomar, Sahil, Sumit Sangwan, Ashu Singh, Aashish Nagar, Bintu Narwal, Shubham Baliyan, Gaurav Kumar, Gurdeep, Nitin Panwar

Telugu Titans:

Rajnish Dalal (Raider)

Ankit Beniwal (Raider)

Adarsh T (Raider)

C Arun (Left Cover)

Surinder Singh (Right Cover)

Muhammad Shihas (Left Corner)

Akash Chowdhury (Right Corner)

Squad: Rohit Kumar (C), Siddharth Desai (VC), Rajnish Dalal, Rakesh Gowda, Galla Raju, Ankit Beniwal, Amit Chauhan, Hyunsu Park, Surinder Singh, Ruturaj Koravi, Sandeep Kandola, C Arun, Akash Arsul, Adarsh T, Akash Chaudhari, Manish, Prince, Abe Tetsuro, Muhammad Shihas, Palla Ramakrishna

Players to Watch out For

Pardeep Narwal (UP Yoddha)

Surender Gill (UP Yoddha)

Rajnish Dalal (Telugu Titans)

Nitesh Kumar (UP Yoddha)

Ankit Beniwal (Telugu Titans)

Key Battle

Surender Gill vs Rajnish Dalal

Who thought Surender Gill will establish himself as the lead raider of UP Yoddha in the presence of Pardeep Narwal and Shrikant Jadhav. The steady striker of UP stands among the Top 10 raiders of the league with 66 raid points from nine games. Gill almost swung the last game on his own, scoring 14 points which also included a tackle point. The renowned support raider Rajnish stepped up his game in the absence of Siddharth Desai and Rohit Kumar. Coach Jagdish Kumble's offensive strategies will revolve around this dependable striker.

Rajnish Dalal's season eight campaign so far:

Match 1: 6 points against Tamil Thalaivas

Match 2: 20 points against Dabang Delhi

Match 3: 1 point against U Mumba

Match 4: 12 points against Gujarat Giants