Noida (U.P.), Nov 21 (IANS): In another thrilling encounter in the Season 11 of the Pro Kabaddi League, Telugu Titans clinched a hard-fought victory against former champions U Mumba 31-29 at the Noida Indoor Stadium here on Wednesday. A strong effort from the defensive unit and eight points for Ashish Narwal helped the Telugu Titans get over the line.

The game started at a brisk pace with the two teams opening their account with successful raids. The defenders didn’t take too long to find their mojo either, making it an intense start to the game. A tremendous two-point raid from Manjeet gave the Telugu Titans a two-point lead in the opening exchanges of the contest.

That was before Sunil Kumar tackled Ashish Narwal on a Do-or-Die Raid. Amirmohammad Zafardanesh followed it up with a successful Do-or-Die Raid of his own to even things up. With their defense keeping a high line, it was U Mumba that managed to take the lead at 8-7 after the first quarter of the game.

There was plenty of back and forth before the two sides resorted to the Do-or-Die Raid strategy. Ashish Narwal got one for his side, while Manjeet did the same for U Mumba. The defenses were on top in this low-scoring affair and there was no separating the two sides with the teams tied at 12 points each at the end of the first half.

It was a slow start for the raiders in the second half as well, before Manjeet executed another two-point raid on a Do-or-Die Raid, giving the Telugu Titans a three-point lead. They further extended their lead to five points, inflicting an All Out against the Season 2 champions.

U Mumba kept themselves in the game with some quick exchanges and stayed within striking distance as the game entered its final quarter. However, Ashish Narwal found his groove on the attacking end, raiding for fun to ensure that Telugu Titans kept having a six-point lead with the clock ticking down.

The deficit was cut down to two points courtesy of a Super Tackle by Sombir on Ashish Narwal. U Mumba made it a one-point game courtesy of raids from Manjeet, Rohit Raghav and Amirmohammad Zafardanesh to lead us to another exciting finish.

Then, a Super Tackle ensured that the Telugu Titans extended their lead back to three points with under a minute to go. U Mumba gave it their all to make it a one-point game in the dying embers as Rohit Raghav got a two-point raid, but the Telugu Titans held their nerve to seal the victory.