PKL 9: Haryana Steelers will play against Jaipur Pink Panthers in a must-win game

Haryana will look to stop Arjun Deshwal.

Jaipur Pink Panthers won the last encounter comprehensively against Bengal Warriors (57-31) by a 25-point margin one of the highest score differences in the PKL season 9 so far. Ajith Kumar the secondary raider scored a super 10 and has come to form at the right time with Arjun Deshwal scoring 22 points. Both Sunil and Ankush scored high 5s and the defensive unit put up a collective effort.

Haryana Steelers won the last encounter against Bengal Warriors (32-26) and are still in contention for the spot in the top 6. Monu Hooda in the left corner scored his first high 5 and did not indulge in any unsuccessful tackle with Jaideep Dahiya giving ample support scoring a high 5.

Team News

Jaipur Pink Panthers

Raiders: Ajith V Kumar, Arjun Deshwal, Devank, Rahul Chaudhari, Nitin Panwar, Navneet, Bhavani Rajput

Defenders: Sunil Kumar, Abhishek KS, Ashish, Ankush, Sahul Kumar, Deepak, Woosan KO, Lucky Sharma, Reza Mirbagheri, Nitin Chandel

All-Rounder: Rahul Gorakh Dhanawade

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

Head to Head

Jaipur Pink Panthers and Haryana Steelers have faced each other 11 times in the Pro Kabaddi League out of which, Jaipur has won six matches whereas Haryana Steelers have come out victorious on three occasions with two matches ending in a tie.

Player to watch

Ankush the left-corner defender will be up against Manjeet Dahiya and Meetu who both have scored more than 130 raid points respectively. Ankush has been in great touch scoring two high 5s in the last three matches. The youngster also leads the high 5 lists scoring seven high 5s two ahead of the injured Sagar from Tamil Thalaivas.

Monu Hooda put up a spirited performance in the last encounter against a strong raiding unit of Bengal Warriors scoring a high 5. Haryana Steelers has tried out different players in the right-corner positions including the Iranian Bastami but Monu has impressed coach Manpreet Singh with his recent performance and will be up against Arjun Deshwal.

Key to Success

Haryana Steelers need to mandatorily win the remaining encounters to get to the playoffs for which both Meetu and Manjeet Dahiya should take the onus upon themselves. Meetu in particular has not been scoring points at a consistent pace in the Hyderabad leg.

Jaipur Pink Panthers has almost got all their bases covered and has also qualified for the playoffs. They now need to look for a tertiary raider if Ajith Kumar fails to perform in pressure situations for which either Rahul Chaudhari or Bhavani Rajput need to be given more game-time than present,

Did you know

Ajith Kumar of Jaipur Pink Panthers is just two points away from reaching the 350 raid points mark in the Pro Kabaddi league.

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