PKL 9: Telugu Titans to face the big challenge of Puneri Paltan

Both teams have faced each other 17 times in the Pro Kabaddi League.

Puneri Paltan looks set to occupy the top 2 spots in the points table after winning their last encounter against Jaipur Pink Panthers (39-32). None of their raiders nor defenders scored super 10 or high 5 but the team put in a collective effort to beat Jaipur comprehensively. Fazel Atrachali did not even open his account shows how balanced the team is going into the playoffs.

Telugu Titans lost the last encounter against Patna Pirates by just one point (35-36) putting in great effort in front of their home fans. The reliable raider Siddharth Desai scored his sixth super 10 of the season with Vishal Bharadwaj scoring a high 5.

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

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

Puneri Paltan and Telugu Titans have faced each other 17 times in the Pro Kabaddi League out of which, Puneri Paltan has won ten matches whereas Telugu Titans have come out victorious on six occasions with one match ending in a tie.

Player to watch

Vishal Bharadwaj from Telugu Titans will have to put in the same effort he put in against Patna Pirates. Puneri Paltan has got great balance in the raiding unit and stopping a single raider will not be the only task for Vishal. With the experience, the corner defender possesses it will be up to him in the defence to put up a good show against the table toppers. 

Fazel Athrachali will be up against Siddharth Desai who is the only reliable raider for the home team this season. If Fazel stops Siddharth from scoring half the battle will be finished as all the other raiders lack confidence.

Key to Success

Siddharth Desai needs to target the cover defenders ( Abhinesh Nadarjan and Saketh Sawant) who are the only weak spots for Puneri Paltan. In the defence, Vishal Bharadwaj needs to show consistency and involve in advanced tackles which have hurt the team badly in the initial phase of the league stages.

Puneri Paltan as always shall put in a team effort with coach BC Ramesh having a good bench strength. The likes of Pankaj Mohite need to be given more game time before the playoffs and rest a few raiders.

Did you know

Fazel Athrachali becomes the most successful captain in the Pro Kabaddi League winning 53 matches overall eclipsing Anup Kumar’s record (52).

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