PKL 9: Tamil Thalaivas will clash with Dabang Delhi

Naveen Kumar and Narender will look to win the match for their respective teams.

Tamil Thalaivas bounced back strongly in the absence of their captain Sagar winning against Gujarat Giants (42-39) thereby climbing up the top 6 spots for the second time in season 9. Ajinkya Pawar's presence of mind in the last two minutes prevented Tamil Thalaivas from getting all-out and Narender Kandola supporting with 13 raid points.

Dabang Delhi KC were the favourites to win the match against Bengaluru Bulls after the end of the first half having a lead of more than ten points. The defence was excellent in the first half but showed inconsistency in the second costing them the game (52-49). The raiders performed to their best with not enough support from the defenders.

Team News

Dabang Delhi KC

Raiders: Naveen Kumar, Manjeet, Ashu Malik, Ashish Narwal, Suraj Panwar

Defenders: Ravi Kumar, Sandeep Dhull, Amit Hooda, Vishal, Anil Kumar, Monu, Dipak, Krishan, Vinay Kumar, Vijay, Mohammad Liton Ali, Aakash

All-rounders: Vijay, Tejas Patil, Reza Katoulinezhad

Tamil Thalaivas

Raiders: Pawan Sehrawat, Ajinkya Ashok Pawar, Himanshu, 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

Dabang Delhi KC and Tamil Thalaivas have faced each other seven times in the Pro Kabaddi League out of which, Dabang Delhi KC has won five times and Tamil Thalaivas has won only once with one match ending in a tie.

Player to watch

Ajinkya Pawar shall be the player to watch out for who will be having the added responsibility in the defence in the absence of star defender Sagar. Being the secondary raider, Pawar needs to play carefully and stay for the maximum time on the mat as he is the most experienced. Amit Hooda will be the threat to both the left raiders from Tamil Thalaivas.

The corner duo of Amit Hooda and Sandeep Dhull should start in the playing 7 as they look like a formidable duo and have a good understanding. Both Amit and Dhull have together played for Jaipur Pink Panthers and will have good communication among them. With Tamil Thalaivas having two left-flank raiders Amit Hooda will be the crisis man for Delhi.

Key to Success

It is very simple for Dabang Delhi KC to win i.e if their defenders perform the team wins else vice-versa. The raiders have scored points in more than 90 per cent of the matches and with the inclusion of Vijay Malik, the franchise looks a bit stable in defence too. 

The cover duo of Mohit and Abhishek shall look to stay patient with the latter having the most number of unsuccessful tackles this season. Himanshu has played a supporting hand in both raiding and defence and should look to play a similar role throughout the league stages.

Did you know?

Vishal recently from Dabang Delhi KC breached the 150 tackle points mark in his 65th match. 

Broadcast

Time - 08:30 PM

Streaming - Star Sports / Disney + Hotstar