PKL 9 Day 25 Live Updates: UP Yoddhas vs Haryana Steelers

07:30 PM: Hello and welcome to Khel Now’s live update of Day 25 of PKL season 9.

Gujarat Giants vs Bengal Warriors

Gujarat Giants have lost two out of their last three matches in the Pune leg and currently are out of the top 6 in the points table of PKL 9. Rakesh Kumar could score only two points overall but Parteek Dahiya the youngster took over the responsibility which was not enough in the end against Patna Pirates.

Bengal Warriors after a good start to the season have looked good in patches. They tied their last encounter against Tamil Thalaivas after trailing by 12 points in the first half. Maninder Singh pushed harder in the second half and gave an excellent comeback and was close to scoring 20 raid points.

Player to watch

Deepak Niwas Hooda after scoring 11 points in the second match was completely off-colour until the last match against Tamil Thalaivas. The all-rounder scored 11 points which should build his confidence going further into season 9. Having been a reliable defender in the past he needs to put in a few defensive points and prove himself as an all-rounder. 

Partheek Dahiya was one of the youngsters to watch out for before the start of Pro Kabaddi season 9 and the time has finally come for the youngster to perform. The youngster scored a super 10 in the last encounter against Patna Pirated with none of the other raiders scoring points. He shall provide good support to Rakesh Kumar and the captain Chandran Ranjith.

Key to Success

Gujarat Giants has now got four quality raiders and shall look to make full use of them from the start of the game. Mahendra Ganesh Rajput for the past few seasons has been a valuable substitute scoring points when needed. The raiding department needs to make use of out-of-form defenders from Bengal Warriors taking full advantage.

Bengal Warrior’s defence is completely off balance with the lead defender Girish Ernak being substituted in the opening minutes of the last encounter against Tamil Thalaivas. Girish couldn’t open the account as well against the southern side and has been inconsistent from the start of the Pune leg. The pair of Vaibhav Garje and Ernak needs to find their form right as soon as possible.

Tamil Thalaivas vs Telugu Titans

Tamil Thalaivas are on a roll in the Pune Leg and are on a three-match unbeaten streak. It has been a long time since Tamil Thalaivas remained unbeaten across three matches showing positive signs of a comeback in Pro Kabaddi League (PKL) season 9. As usual Narender Kandola yet again scored a super 10 his fourth on the trot and has remained vital in the raiding department.

Telugu Titans after a long time showed some positive signs after losing by a close margin to U Mumba (37-40). Siddharth Desai was back to his usual form scoring a super 10 and was the lone raider battling till the end. Parvesh Bainswal scored his first high 5 scoring eight points overall. 

Player to watch

Siddharth Desai from Telugu Titans after a steady start to season 9 is slowly finding his old mojo back. The lanky raider scored 16 points against U Mumba and was instrumental in the end taking one point away from the encounter. In the initial matches, Desai scored 6 points on average but now needs to put in more effort on a consistent basis.

Abhishek the cover defender from Tamil Thalaivas has looked in good form after the appointment of coach Ashan Kumar. His average tackle points in the last few encounters have increased showing good signs. But the defender from Tamil Nadu needs to avoid putting in unsuccessful tackles which have been costing the team badly. 

Key to Success

Both Narender Kandola and Ajinkya Pawar combined have put in a good show but it is the defenders who are yet to fire in the last couple of matches. Sagar the second-best defender from season 8 is out of form along with Sahil Gulia. The duo of Sagar and Gulia need to combine together and put in successful tackles.

Telugu Titans will be happy to see Parvesh Bainswal and Siddhart Desai get back to form. If Ravinder Pahal plays tomorrow then he shall be careful of Narender Kandola who is good at taking bonuses frequently and keeps the scoreboard ticking. Keeping Narender quiet will be half job done for Telugu Titans.

Haryana Steelers vs UP Yoddhas

Haryana Steelers will be up against UP Yoddhas in match 61 of the Pro Kabaddi League PKL season 9. The Steelers haven’t been at their best this season. They have 2 of their last 3 games and tied 1 but are still 7th on the points table. The Yoddhas meanwhile lost their last game against Puneri Paltan on Friday by 40-31. They would look to bounce back on Saturday.

Head to head

Haryana Steelers and U.P. Yoddha have faced each other in 6 matches in Pro Kabaddi. Out of these 6 games, Haryana Steelers have won 3 whereas U.P. Yoddhas have come out victorious on 2 occasions. 1 game ended in a tie.

Players to watch

For the Steelers Meetu Singh has stepped up when Manjeet has been off colour. He is amongst the top 10 raiders in the tournament currently. The Steelers would hope that he can continue to get raid points consistently. But he would need support. For Yoddhas Ashu has been terrific in defence. If Ashu does well in defence expect the UP based franchise to dominate the game.