PKL 9: Haryana Steelers will face U Mumba in a must-win game

Season 2 champions will look to get back into top six.

Haryana Steelers won the last encounter against Patna Pirates (33-23) and are still in contention for the playoff spot of PKL 9. All the remaining matches from here will be do-or-die matches for Manpreet Singh's led side. Manjeet Dahiya and Meetu combined well in the last match to score ten and eight points respectively.

U Mumba won the last encounter with an eight-point margin against Bengal Warriors (49-41) with captain Rinku leading from the front scoring a high 5. Guman Singh and Ashish both scored super 10s scoring 14 and 13 points respectively. 

Team News

Haryana Steelers Squad

Raiders: Prapanjan, Rakesh Narwal, Manjeet, Vinay, Mohammad Mahalli, Lovepreet Singh, Sushil, Meetu, Manish Gulia.

Defenders: Joginder Narwal, Jaideep, Mohit, Ankit, Monu, Naveen, Harsh, Sunny, Amirhossein Bastami.

All-Rounder: Nitin Rawal

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-Rounder: Gholamabbas Korouki

Head to Head

U Mumba and Haryana Steelers have faced each other 12 times in the Pro Kabaddi League out of which, Haryana has won four matches whereas U Mumba has also come out victorious on seven occasions with two matches ending in a tie.

Player to watch

Ashish returned to form in the last encounter scoring his second super 10 of the season. He was a replacement for Guman Singh who got injured in the mid-season and has stamped his spot as a secondary raider taking over from Jai Bhagwan. Along with raiding Ashish has also been good at defence which is an added advantage.

The combo of Meetu and Manjeet Dahiya needs to fire consistently to give the defenders an added cushion. Whenever the raiding duo has performed Haryana Steelers has won that particular encounter. Meetu in particular after a good start has performed below par and now needs to up his performance.  

Key to Success

The Haryana Steelers' defence has been an area of concern with none of them being consistent throughout. Bastami was considered a great buy in the auction but has performed below par along with Mohit Nandal who was good at the start. The defence needs to stop in form Guman Singh and if they succeed then will have the upper hand.

U Mumba should focus more on the defence with captain Rinku leading from the front. The others like Harendra Kumar who are more experienced need to step up in the absence of Surinder Singh. U Mumba has won most of the matches when their defence has performed which has been their strength throughout the season.

Did you know

Manjeet Dahiya from Haryana Steelers is just one point from getting to the 500 raid points mark in the Pro Kabaddi League.

Broadcast

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