PKL 9 Day 50 Live Updates: U Mumba vs Gujarat Giants

07:30 Welcome to Khel Now's live updates of day 50 of PKL season 9.

U Mumba vs Gujarat Giants

U Mumba lost a crucial encounter to UP Yoddhas (28-38) and currently occupies the 9th spot in the points table of PKL 9. Captain Surinder Singh was back to the mat after a short break from injury and put up a good show scoring four points. The stand-in captain Rinku couldn’t replicate his previous performances with the whole defence looking haphazard.

Gujarat Giants has caught up with the pace at the right time but can fall just short of playoffs even if they go on winning the next three matches. Gujarat beat Patna Pirates in the last encounter (40-34) with Mahender Ganesh Rajput scoring a crucial super 10 in the absence of Partheek Dahiya.

Head to Head.

U Mumba and Gujarat have faced 11 other times in the Pro Kabaddi League out of which Gujarat has won six matches whereas U Mumba has come out victorious on four occasions with one match ending in a tie.

Player to watch

Mahendra Ganesh Rajput has been the super sub for Gujarat Giants this season and has always delivered when required. He scored his maiden super 10 of the season when the other raiders looked out of touch which proved crucial for Giant’s victory. Coach Ram Mehar Singh should make use of MGR from the start itself which can prove handy.

U Mumba majorly operates with a five-man defensive setup with two raiders. Guman has been the most consistent raider and the secondary raider’s role looked after by Ashish. Apart from two super 10s Ashish hasn’t looked threatening and with Heiderali on the bench, U Mumba can try out different options in the secondary raiders role.

UP Yoddhas vs Bengaluru Bulls

Bengaluru Bulls suffered their worst defeat in PKL season 9 losing by a 20-point margin to Jaipur Pink Panthers (25-45). This is their third loss in the last five matches and is losing momentum at the fag end of the league stages. Bengaluru Bulls currently occupy the fourth spot in the points table and a win here will seal them the playoffs spot.

UP Yoddhas has made a strong comeback after the appointment of Pardeep Narwal as captain and currently occupies the third spot in the points table. UP defeated U Mumba comprehensively in the last encounter (38-28) and a win here will seal them the playoff spot and can also look for the top two spots.

Head-to-Head

Bengaluru Bulls and UP Yoddhas have faced each other 12 times in the Pro Kabaddi League out of which, Bengaluru Bulls has won seven matches whereas UP has come out victorious on five occasions.

Player to watch

Neeraj Narwal needs has been the secondary raider for Bengaluru on most occasions and needs to continue the same with only three matches left in the league stages. Bharat did not get enough support in the last few matches and with Vikash Kandola being inconsistent, Neeraj needs to step up in attack and is also a valuable player in the defensive section as well.

Sumit the left-corner defender was back to form scoring four tackle points in the last encounter against U Mumba. More importantly, he did not involve himself in any unsuccessful tackle and needs to continue the same against ever-improving Bharat.