PKL 9: Naveen Kumar's Dabang Delhi look to bounce back against Bengaluru Bulls

The table toppers have struggled when their star raider is kept out of the game.

Dabang Delhi KC after winning five successive encounters has lost the last two games in the Bengaluru leg but still continues to hold the top spot ahead of Jaipur Pink Panthers in PKL 9. Naveen Kumar has been performing at his best scoring seven consecutive super 10s the most in season 9. Bengaluru Bulls will be Dabang Delhi's next opponent in PKL 9

Bengaluru Bulls has ended the home leg on a positive note winning the last set of matches and presently occupying the third spot. A win against Dabang Delhi KC in the Pune Leg would mean Bengaluru closing in on the top spot with 29 points. Bharat as usual will be the key going forward.

Team News

Bengaluru Bulls

Raiders: Vikash Kandola, More G B, Lala Mohar Yadav, Neeraj Narwal, Harmanjit Singh, Bharat, Nageshor Tharu

All-Rounders: Sachin Narwal, Rahul Khatik

Defenders: Mahender Singh, Saurabh Nandal, Mayur Kadam, Sudhakar Krishant, Rohit Kumar, Vinod Naik, Aman, Rajnesh, Yash Hooda

Dabang Delhi KC

Raiders: Naveen Kumar, Manjeet, Ashu Malik, Ashish Narwal, Suraj Panwar

Defenders: Ravi Kumar, Sandeep Dhull, Amit Hooda, Vishal, Anil Kumar, Monu, Dipak, Krishan, Vinay Kumar, Vijay, Mohammad Liton Ali, Aakash

All-rounders: Vijay, Tejas Patil, Reza Katoulinezhad

Head to Head

Bengaluru Bulls and Dabang Delhi KC have faced each other 17 times in the Pro Kabaddi League out of which, Bengaluru Bulls have won six whereas Patna Pirates have come out victorious on nine occasions with two matches ending in a tie.

Player to watch

Manjeet in the last two games in which Dabang Delhi lost was below par scoring less than ten points combined. In the first five games, Manjeet was performing the role of a secondary raider role to perfection but lost pace at the end of the Bengaluru leg. Ashu Malik made up for Manjeet’s absence but that wasn't enough for Delhi to win.

Saurabh Nandal will play a massive role in defence controlling Naveen Kumar who is in his prime. Naveen being a right raider will not advance too much on Nandal but the defender needs to be active when Naveen tries to take bonus points to his right. Mahender Singh in the cover position shall be attentive and not involved in unsuccessful tackles.

Key to Success

Dabang Delhi KC will rely on the combined team effort from both the raiders and defenders. Krishan Dhull and Ravi will play a massive role in keeping both Bharat and Vikash Kandola silent which shall increase Delhi’s chance of winning.

Bengaluru Bulls' defence shall be attentive and should look to tackle Naveen frequently. The secondary raiders have not been in good touch in the last couple of matches and will be low on confidence. If the Bengaluru Bulls' defence silences Naveen then it will become easy for them to win.

Did you know

Naveen Kumar has scored 781 points (raiding - 771 and defence - 10) in 72 matches played in the Pro Kabaddi League.  

Broadcast - PKL 9

Time - 07:30 PM

Streaming - Star Sports / Disney + Hotstar