PKL 9: Telugu Titans will face challenge of Jaipur Pink Panthers

Arjun Deshwal is the first raider to cross the 200 raid points mark in season 9.

Jaipur Pink Panthers won the last encounter against Tamil Thalaivas quite comfortably by a 15 point margin (41-26) and look steady at the third spot in the points table. Arjun Deshwal after some time got good support from secondary raider V. Ajith Kumar who scored nine raid points. Ankush in the defence scored his fifth high 5 with Sahul playing equally well.

Telugu Titans on the other hand were without the likes of injured star raider Siddharth Desai and lost the last encounter to current table toppers Puneri Paltan (25-38). They were playing comparatively well in front of the home crowd but couldnt match the similar performance against Puneri Paltan.

Team News

Jaipur Pink Panthers

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

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

All-Rounder: Rahul Gorakh Dhanawade

Telugu Titans

Raiders: Abhishek Singh, Monu Goyat, Siddharth Sirish Desai, Rajnish, Ankit Beniwal, Vinay, Aman Kadian.

Defenders: Surjeet Singh, Parvesh Bhainswal, Vishal Bhardwaj, Adarsh T, Ravinder Pahal, Vijay Kumar, Nitin, Mohit, Mohit Pahal. Muhammed Shihas S.

All-Rounders: Mohsen Maghsoudlou Jafari, K Hanumanthu, Hamid Mirzaei Nader, Ravinder.

Head to Head

Jaipur Pink Panthers and Telugu Titans have faced each other 16 times in the Pro Kabaddi League out of which, Jaipur has won seven matches whereas Telugu Titans have come out victorious on eight occasions with one match ending in a tie.

Player to watch

Adarsh T from Telugu Titans in the limited opportunities provided has played well scoring points in both raiding and defence. He scored nine points in the last encounter with five points from raiding and the remaining four from defence through super tackle. Venkatesh Goud should make use of Adarsh and make him play from the start consistently.

Ajith Kumar scored nine points in the previous encounter and gave good support to Arjun Deshwal as a secondary raider. This effort should easy some pressure from Arjun  Deshwal who was the only raider to score points in the absence of Rahul and Ajith. Ajith needs to perform in similar manner as the playoffs is not far away.

Key to Success

Telugu Titans defence to date hasnt performed with sync with none of the defenders taking the responsibility of controlling the defence. With Pahal out of injury and Surjeet Singh sitting out the combo of Parvesh Bainswal and Vishal Bharadwaj need to show way to youngsters as they are the most experienced in the team. 

Jaipur has the most balanced defensive unit along with Puneri Paltan and with Telugu Titans without their star raider Siddharth Desai they will find it easy to tackle other raiders who have lacked form and havent scored much points. 

Did you know

Arjun Deshwal became the first raider to cross the 200 raid points mark in season 9 of the Pro Kabaddi League.

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