PKL 9: Puneri Paltan look to bounce back against Jaipur Pink Panthers

After missing a few matches initially Fazel Atrachali has been phenomenal in the last four matches.

Jaipur Pink Panthers won their last encounter against Telugu Titans by a comprehensive 24-point margin (51-27). The team put in a collective effort with both the raiders and defenders performing extremely well. Sahul Kumar was the star with seven tackle points after a poor start to the season. Puneri Paltans won a close match against Bengal Warriors (27-25). Two defenders Fazel Athrachali and Sombir scored high 5s in a low-scoring battle. It is rare to see more than one defender scoring a high 5 but the Puneri Paltan defence did it with perfection. After a poor start to the season, the western side has bounced back strongly.

Team News

Puneri Paltans

Raiders: Aslam Inamdar, Mohit Goyat, Pankaj Mohite, Akash Shinde, Shubham Shelke, Aditya Shinde

All-Rounders: Mohammad Nabibakhsh (overseas player), Balasaheb Jadhav, Govind Gurjar

Defenders: Sanket Sawant, Fazel Atrachali (overseas player), Abinesh Nadarajan, Sombir, D Mahindra Prasad, Badal Singh, Alankar Patil, Rakesh Ram, Harsh Lad

Jaipur Pink Panthers

Raiders: Ajith Kumar, Arjun Deshwal, Devank, Rahul Chaudhari, Nitin Panwar, Navneet, Bhavani Rajput

All-Rounder: Rahul Gorakh Dhanawade 

Defenders: Sunil Kumar, Abhishek KS, Ashish, Ankush, Sahul Kumar, Deepak, Woosan KO, Lucky Sharma, Reza Mirbagheri, Nitin Chandel

Head to Head

Jaipur Pink Panthers and Puneri Paltan have faced each other 18 times in the Pro Kabaddi League out of which, Jaipur Pink Panthers have won 10 whereas Puneri Paltan has come out victorious on six occasions with two matches ending in a tie.

Player to watch

Fazel Athrachali has been phenomenal after missing a few matches at the start of the season. The Iranian has scored 15 tackle points in four matches and in the last match scored six tackle points. The defender has got good support from Nabibaksh and Sombir who too have been performing well in patches.

Sahul Kumar was the star performer for Jaipur Pink Panthers in the last encounter against Telugu Titans scoring seven tackle points. Sahul had a poor start to the season putting in many unsuccessful tackles but came back strong in the last match. The right-corner defender shall now look to be consistent.

Key to Success

Aslam Inamdar after a good start to the season has had below-par performances in the last few games. Aslam is the primary raider and needs to stay consistent along with Mohit Goyat who has been good as a secondary raider. Mohammed Nabibaksh also needs to step up and score a few raid points.

The defence of Jaipur Pink Panthers has been lethal this season and the return of Sahul Kumar to form will bolster the team’s performance even more. Sunil Kumar the captain and the left corner position have also been consistent throughout the season. 

Did you know

Puneri Paltans has beaten Jaipur Pink Panthers only once in the last four matches since the last two seasons (seasons 7 and 8).

Broadcast

Time - 07:30 PM

Streaming - Star Sports / Disney + Hotstar