PKL 9: Jaipur Pink Panthers eye league double over U Mumba

The Panthers won the first meeting in PKL season 9 by a 39-42 margin.

Jaipur Pink Panthers decimated Dabang Delhi KC in the last encounter (57-32). It was the highest score recorded by a team in Pro Kabaddi League (PKL) season 9. “Showman” Rahul Chaudhari scored his first Super 10 of the season and was instrumental in the clinical win along with Arjun Deshwal in the raiding department. A win against U-Mumba will help them move towards the top two spots.

U Mumba, on the other hand, halted Patna Pirates' unbeaten streak defeating them 36-23 and have inched closer to the top two spots. Guman Singh scored his second Super 10 after a comeback from injury and the fifth overall of the season. He was ably supported by Ashish as the secondary raider.

Team News

U Mumba

Raiders: Guman Singh, Ashish, Heidarali Ekrami, Jai Bhagwan Ankush, Kamlesh, Shivam, Pranay Rane, Sachin, Rupesh

Defenders: Rinku, Surinder Singh, Harendra Kumar, Shivansh Thakur, Prince, Kiran Magar, Rahul, Satywan, Mohit

All-Rounders: Gholamabbas Korouki

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

Head-to-Head

U Mumba and Jaipur Pink Panthers have faced each other 20 times at the Pro Kabaddi League (PKL). Out of which, Jaipur Pink Panthers have won eight matches. Whereas, U Mumba has come out victorious on 10 occasions with two matches ending in a tie.

Player to watch

Sahul Kumar will be the player to watch out for and will be up against the in-form Guman Singh from the left flank. Sahul Kumar has performed well in patches but the other defenders have nullified it by scoring more tackle points. If the right corner is successful in keeping Guman quiet then Jaipur will have the upper hand throughout the match. 

Guman Singh along with Ashish shall form a deadly raiding combo against the strong Jaipur defence to put up a good fight. Ashish performed well when Guman was injured and now needs to up the ante and bring in his “A” performance to the mat since U Mumba will only be playing with two raiders throughout the match.

Key to Success

Sunil Kumar and Ankush along with Sahul on the right flank will be the key to Jaipur’s victory. With U Mumba majorly operating with only two raiders, the Jaipur Pink Panthers' defence should look to keep both the raiders out of the match and play on the do-or-die raids which shall induce more mistakes from the raiders of U Mumba. 

U Mumba even without the presence of captain Surinder Singh has shown good temperament and performed well. The defensive unit will be up against the strong Arjun Deshwal and Rahul Chaudhari. Ajith Kumar has looked out of form this season and the defence should look to capitalize on this. Overall the match will be a battle between the two top defensive units.

Did you know

U Mumba holds the most number of tackle points (team) in Pro Kabaddi League (PKL) season 9 to date.

Broadcast

Time - 07:30 PM

Streaming - Star Sports / Disney + Hotstar