Hyderabad: Telugu Titans and Puneri Paltan made winning starts on the opening day of that Pro Kabaddi Season 5 in Hyderabad yesterday. In the inaugural match, Rahul Chaudhari led the charge for Telugu Titans as they defeated debutants Tamil Thalaivas 32-27 in front of their adoring fans at the Gachibowli Indoor Stadium. While the Thalaivas showed a spark of brilliance by K. Prapanjan and Ajay Thakur, it wasn’t enough for the visitors who went down fighting.

Looking to continue the winning run, Telugu Titans will now play their second game today (July 39) against defending champions Patna Pirates. On the other hand, Tamil Thalaivas will be happy to learn from their debut experience and hope to find their footing when they meet Bengaluru Bulls on August 4.

The second match opening day pitched both the teams from Maharashtra against each other. U Mumba, captained by talismanic raider Anup Kumar, had the likes of Kashiling Adake (the player with the second highest raid points in the league), and the experienced Shabeer Bappu, while Deepak Hooda’s Puneri Paltan boasted the likes of Sandeep Narwal and Dharmaraj Cheralathan. It was an encounter between Mumbai’s attack and Pune’s defence in which Pune emerged supreme with the final score of 33-21 in their favour. This was the Paltan’s second win in nine matches against U Mumba in the history of the league.

U Mumba will now face debutants Haryana Steelers on July 30 (Sunday) in Hyderabad, while Puneri Paltan will face Dabang Delhi K.C. on Aug. 4 in Nagpur.