PKL 9: Bengaluru Bulls' struggling defence will face Manpreet Singh's Haryana Steelers

Randhir Singh Sehrawat's side has had questionable performances in the tackling department.

Bengaluru Bulls have slid down to the third spot in the points table after losing two consecutive matches. Bengaluru lost a close encounter against Gujarat Giants (44-46) with all three raiders contributing equally. Bharat scored yet another super 10, Vikash Kandola scored nine points and Neeraj Kumar with eight points. The defence put up a poor show with Saurabh Nandal having an off day. Bengaluru Bulls will play Haryana Steelers in the next PKL 9 game.

Haryana Steelers has looked good in patches and are having a tough time sitting on the 10th spot in the points table. Haryana was in the top 6 during the Bengaluru leg but slid out of the playoffs spots. They lost the last encounter against Patna Pirates with only Manjeet Dahiya scoring a super 10.

Team News

Haryana Steelers

Raiders: Prapanjan, Rakesh Narwal, Manjeet, Vinay, Mohammad Mahalli, Lovepreet Singh, Sushil, Meetu, Manish Gulia.

Defenders: Joginder Narwal, Jaideep, Mohit, Ankit, Monu, Naveen, Harsh, Sunny, Amirhossein Bastami.

All-Rounder: Nitin Rawal

Bengaluru Bulls

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

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

All-Rounders: Sachin Narwal, Rahul Khatik

Head to Head

Bengaluru Bulls and Haryana Steelers have faced each other seven times in the Pro Kabaddi League out of which, Bengaluru has won four matches and Haryana Steelers has come out victorious on the other three occasions.

Player to watch

Mohit Nandal and Jaideep had an off game against Patna Pirates and all the defenders performed below par against Patna Pirates. The right and left cover combo need to stop both Vikas Kandola and Bharat from both sides. Bharat with his height has a good reach and his running hand touch shall be taken care of.

The left corner position is a cause of concern for the Bengaluru Bulls. The left-corner defender put in four unsuccessful tackles in the first half itself hurting them badly. Both Manjeet Dahiya and Meetu will look to attack and take bonuses frequently which Bengaluru Bulls should be aware of. 

Key to Success

The Bengaluru Bull's defence apart from Saurabh Nandal has not looked good and has performed well only in patches. The cover position along with the left corner position should be targeted by the Haryana Steelers raider to score the maximum number of raid points. Both Meetu and Manjeet need to score points simultaneously which they have not done to date and this will be the right situation 

Vikash Kandola and Neeraj Kumar performed exceptionally well in the last game against Gujarat Giants. Bharat on the other hand too scored a super 10 and if they continue to perform in the same manner against Haryana Steeler’s defence then Bengaluru will hold an edge for winning. 

Did you know

Haryana Steelers has two raiders (Manjeet Dahiya and Meetu) currently inside the top 12 of the most raid points list in season 9. 

Broadcast - PKL 9

Time - 08:30 PM

Streaming - Star Sports / Disney + Hotstar