PKL 9: Gujarat Giants to continue their do-or-die run against Telugu Titans

Both teams will meet in the 123rd match of the season.

Gujarat Giants won the last encounter against U Mumba by a two-point margin (38-36) and are on a three-match unbeaten streak. Partheek Dahiya once again stood out for the Giants scoring a super 10 and a total of 13 raid points. The defence which was a concern gave good support to the raiding department.

Telugu Titans lost by a massive 28-point margin against Tamil Thalaivas (24-52) which is also one of the worst defeats in terms of score difference for the Titans. Siddharth Desai who was back from the injury couldn't replicate his old form and was substituted early. Hanumanthu stood out in Desai’s absence scoring the first super 10 of the season.

Team News

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.

Gujarat Giants

Raiders: Chandran Ranjit, Mahendra Rajput, Dong Geon Lee, Purna Singh, Sonu, Pardeep Kumar, Rakesh, Gaurav Chhikara, Sohit, Sonu Singh, Sawin

Defenders: Vinod Kumar, Young Chang Ko, Rinku Narwal, Baldev Singh, Sourav Gulia, Sandeep Kandola, Manuj, Kapil, Ujjval Singh

All-rounders: Arkam Shaikh, Parteek Dhaiya, Rohan Singh, Shankar Gadai

Head to Head

Telugu Titans and Gujarat Giants have faced each other seven times in the Pro Kabaddi League out of which, Gujarat has won six encounters whereas Telugu Titans have come out victorious on only one occasion.

Player to watch

Partheek Dahiya should find it easy against the inconsistent defensive unit of Telugu Titans. None of the defenders including the cover defender Parvesh Bainswal stood up in the crucial situations in the last few encounters. Partheek needs to make use of this opportunity and score maximum raid points.

Hanumanthu looks like a good raiding talent from Telugu Titans. In season 8 it was Rajnish and Ankit Beniwal who were the youngsters to watch out for and in season 9 it can be Hanumanthu who hasn't got enough game time. The Gujarat Giants' defence too doesn't look very solid and can score consecutive super 10.

Key to Success

For both teams to win the performance of the defence needs to be solid. Gujarat Giants in the past has won matches entirely due to raiding but it cannot be the case always similar with Telugu Titans. Either Vishal Bhardwaj or Parvesh Bainswal needs to take the onus of keeping the defence tight and not indulge in unsuccessful tackles.

Did you know

Chandran Ranjith from Gujarat Giants will be playing his 100th match at the Pro Kabaddi League.

Broadcast

Time - 08:30 PM

Streaming - Star Sports / Disney + Hotstar