PKL 9: Bengaluru Bulls look to extend winning run, Gujarat Giants hope for change in fortune

The Giants came out on top when both these teams last met in PKL 9.

Bengaluru Bulls will be up against Gujarat Giants in match 86 of the Pro Kabaddi League (PKL) season 9. This will be their second meeting in the season. In the earlier clash, the Giants beat the Bulls by a 46-44 margin. But since then things have changed dramatically for both sides. The Giants are currently 11th on the points table, while the Bulls are at the top of the table and favourites to qualify for the semi-finals.

Team News

Gujarat Giants

Raiders: Chandran Ranjit, Mahendra Rajput, Dong Geon Lee, Purna Singh, Sonu, Pardeep Kumar, Rakesh, Gaurav Chhikara, Sohit, Sonu Singh, Sawin

Defenders: Vinod Kumar, Young Chang Ko, Rinku Narwal, Baldev Singh, Sourav Gulia, Sandeep Kandola, Manuj, Kapil, Ujjval Singh

All-rounders: Arkam Shaikh, Parteek Dhaiya, Rohan Singh, Shankar Gadai

Bengaluru Bulls

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

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 Gujarat Giants have faced each other 10 times in the Pro Kabaddi League. The Bulls have won four matches and Gujarat Giants have come out victorious on other seven occasions with one game ending in a tie.

Player to watch

It is hard to look past Bharat at the moment. He has taken the job of the lead raider and is currently second on the raid points list with 159 raid points in 14 games. He would look to go past Arjun Deswal who leads the list.

Rinku is in fine form and the Giants will hope that he can stabilise the defence and stop the opposition from getting easy raid points. He is currently 5th on the most tackle points list with 38 tackle points from 12 games.

Key to success

If the Bengaluru Bulls can find a good partner for Bharat, the team will undoubtedly improve. Neeraj Kumar was effective early in the season but has not received enough raids to establish himself as a tertiary raider. It is past time for Vikash Kandola to deliver on a consistent basis, as Bharat cannot handle the raiding department on his own.

Gujarat's defence needs to come good to have any chance of winning the game. The Bulls are on a roll and Bharat especially is in great touch, if the Giants defence can stop Bharat then they can win challenge the Bulls.

Did you know?

Vikash Kandola from Bengaluru Bulls has reached 750 points (raiding + defence).

Broadcast – PKL 9

Time – 09:30 PM

Streaming – Star Sports / Disney + Hotstar