PKL 9: U Mumba will play against Gujarat Giants to stay alive in competition

Mahender Rajput can start for the Giants' side.

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 Mahendra Ganesh Rajput scoring a crucial super 10 in the absence of Partheek Dahiya.

Team News

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

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 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 Asish. 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.

Key to Success

The defence has been the strength for U Mumba and in the previous encounter none apart from the captain Surinder Singh stepped up. With coach Anil Chaprana putting full focus on defence, a player like Harendra Kumar in the cover position needs to step up against a raiding-heavy Gujarat Giants.

Gujarat Giants' main problem was their defence and in the last encounter against Patna Pirates, the defence performed well comparatively. Sourav Gulia was back to form after recovering from injury scoring four tackle points. He needs to again step up and look after the defence with only Guman looking threatening.

Did you know

Mahendra Ganesh Rajput from Gujarat Giants is six points short of reaching the 300 raid points mark in the Pro Kabaddi League. 

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