Telugu Titans will hope to end their home leg on a positive note as they take on Patna Pirates after four consecutive losses.
A rematch of Match 4 is on the cards on Thursday at Hyderabad where the Telugu Titansa Rahul Chaudhari is up against Piratesa Pardeep Narwal for the second time in Season 5. The first encounter between these two teams on Matchday 2 had ended with Patna Pirates handing Telugu Titans their first defeat of the season. A six-point difference separated the two teams at the end of regulation time as the scoreline read 29-35.
In that match, Pirates captain Narwal showed why he was retained by the double defending champions at the start of the season. Titans star raider and captain Chaudhari also tried to replicate the performance of the previous match against Tamil Thalaivas but he and his team faltered under pressure. To make it worse, the Titans have since lost three more matches.
The home team now will have to regroup and get back their confidence as they currently have just seven points from five matches in Zone B. In the last match of the Hyderabad leg, the Titans would love to give their passionate fans something to cheer; and what could be a better way than beating the team who handed them their first defeat this season? However, to achieve that object in view of their current form, Chaudhari, Rakesh Kumar, Rohit Rana and Vishal Bhardwaj all will have to play out of their skin. Thereas no two ways about it!
Patna Pirates, meanwhile, have played just one match this season and put up a great all-round show on that occasion. With the presence of Narwal and Vishal Mane in the team and that fact that the Titans are terribly low on confidence; the double defending champions will definitely back themselves for this game.
Telugu Titans vs Patna Pirates SquadsA
Telugu Titans – Rahul Chaudhari (c), Farhad Milaghardan, Rohit Rana, Nilesh Salunke, Vishal Bhardwaj, Rakesh Kumar, Vikas Tanwar
Patna Pirates – Pardeep Narwal (c), Vishal Mane, Monu Goyat, Sandeep,AMohammad Maghsoudulu, Satish, Sachin Shingade
