PKL 9: Puneri Paltan will look to cement their top spot against in-form Tamil Thalaivas

The two teams are perhaps the most in-form teams in the league.

Puneri Paltan is on a roll and are currently at the top of the points table. The western side beat UP Yoddhas in the last encounter with Akash Shinde scoring a super 10 with 15 points and Fazel Athrachali scoring a high 5 with seven tackle points. Puneri started the season slowly but has caught up pace in front of the home crowd and is yet to lose in Pune. Puneri Paltan will play a rejuvenated Tamil Thalaivas in PKL 9.

Tamil Thalaivas are on a four-match unbeaten run and for the first time in the history of the Pro Kabaddi League Tamil Thalaivas has remained unbeaten for four matches winning three along with a tie. Ajinkya Pawar was the star of the show in the last encounter against Telugu Titans scoring six points in a single raid turning the match completely in Tamil Thalaiva's favour. The southern team currently occupy the seventh spot in the points table and is just one win away from going into the top 6.

Team News

Puneri Paltan

Raiders: Aslam Inamdar, Mohit Goyat, Pankaj Mohite, Akash Shinde, Shubham Shelke, Aditya Shinde

All-Rounders: Mohammad Nabibakhsh , Balasaheb Jadhav, Govind Gurjar

Defenders: Sanket Sawant, Fazel Atrachali , Abinesh Nadarajan, Sombir, D Mahindra Prasad, Badal Singh, Alankar Patil, Rakesh Ram, Harsh Lad

Tamil Thalaivas

Raiders: Ajinkya Ashok Pawar, Himanshu Kandola, Jatin, Himanshu

All-rounders: Thanushan Laxmamohan, Visvanath V, K Abhimanyu

Defenders: Sagar, Sahil, M Abishek, Mohit, Himanshu, Ashish, Md Arif Rabbani, Arpit Saroha, Ankit

Head to Head

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

Player to watch

Akash Shinde was performing well in the limited chances provided to him at the start of the tournament but when Aslam Inamdar got injured Akash Shinde proved the quality he possesses. He has scored two consecutive super 10s in PKL 9 and the team is looking strong without their top raider.

Sagar was the second in the tackle points table in Pro Kabaddi season 8 but has not started season 9 on a good note. The captain in the last encounter scored eight points and has shown signs of last season. The corner duo needs to stop both Akash Shinde and Mohit Goyat who have been in great form.

Key to Success

In the absence of Narender Kandola who could score only three points in the last game against Telugu Titans AJinkya Pawar stood up and scored a super 10 with one raid fetching 6 points the highest in season 9 in a single raid. The duo need to click together against the likes of Fazel Athrachali and Sombir who are at their best.

Puneri Paltan has put in a team effort in most of their games with both raiders and defenders putting equal contributions. Fazel should be wary of the youngster Narendra Kandola who has looked threatening in the absence of Pawan Sherawat. Mohammed Nabibaksh hasn't fired to date and was initially good at defence. The star Iranian needs to contribute in both attack and defence against the strong Tamil Thalaivas side.

Did you know

Ajinkya Pawar is four points short of reaching the 250 raid points mark in the Pro Kabaddi League.

Broadcast - PKL 9

Time - 08:30 PM

Streaming - Star Sports / Disney + Hotstar