PKL 9 Day 29 Live Updates: Puneri Paltan vs Tamil Thalaivas

07:30 PM: Hello and welcome to Khel Now’s live update of Day 29 of PKL season 9.

Bengaluru Bulls vs Haryana Steelers

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.

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. 

Tamil Thalaivas vs Puneri Paltan

The match between Puneri Paltan and Tamil Thalaivas will be a reverse fixture after two days in PKL 9. Puneri Paltan lost a close encounter (34-35) after a miscalculation by captain Fazel Athrachali costing them the match. Aslam Inamdar after missing out on a few games due to an injury came back strongly scoring a super 10 and replacing in form Akash Shinde.

Tamil Thalaivas are on a five-match unbeaten streak winning four matches along with one tied match. Narender Kandola was kept on the bench for more than 12 minutes but still went on to score a super 10 after a poor outing against Telugu Titans. Tamil Thalaivas are currently placed inside the playoffs spot and can move to the top 2 if they beat Puneri Paltan again in PKL 9.

Head to Head

Tamil Thalaivas and Puneri Paltan have faced each other seven times in the Pro Kabaddi League out of which, Tamil Thalaivas have won three matches whereas Puneri Paltan has come out victorious on two occasions with two matches ending in a tie.

Player to watch

Ajinkya Pawar after the start of the Pune leg of PKL 9 has played the secondary raider role to perfection scoring points regularly. Apart from scoring points in raiding, he has shown intent in the defence section as well as tackling Mohit Goyat in the last encounter. Ajinkya possesses a good thigh hold which is difficult for the raiders to escape.

Sombir in the left corner position will play the most important role for Puneri Paltan to win the reverse fixture. Both the main raiders from Tamil Thalaivas (Narender Kandola and Ajinkya Pawar) are left raiders and will look to score points in the left flank itself. This threat shall be nullified by Sombir.