PKL 9: U Mumba will face the big challenge of UP Yoddhas

Surender Singh is expected to be back after a long break due to injury.

U Mumba lost the last encounter against Haryana Steelers (33-35) thereby moving out of the playoff spots and are placed in 7th place in the PKL 9 table. The western side has lost four of the last five encounters and has lost momentum in the fag end of the league stages. A win against UP Yoddhas will again move them in into the playoffs spot.

UP Yoddhas on the other hand has picked up momentum at the right time in the absence of the star raider Surender Gill. Pardeep Narwal has led the troops pretty well and a win against U Mumba will make them go above Bengaluru Bulls to the 3rd spot. 

Team News

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

UP Yoddhas 

Raiders: Pardeep Narwal, Surender Gill, Nitin Tomar, Anil Kumar, Mahipal, Rohit Tomar, Aman, Durgesh Kumar, Rathan K, Gulveer Singh

All-Rounders: Gurdeep, Nehal Desai, Nitin Panwar, Sandeep Narwal.

Defenders: Nitesh Kumar, Sumit, Ashu Singh, Shubham Kumar, Abozar Mohajermighani, Babu M, Jaideep

Head to Head

UP Yoddhas and U Mumba have faced each other nine times in the Pro Kabaddi League out of which, UP Yoddhas have won four matches and Bengal Warriors has come out victorious on four occasions with one match ending in a tie.

Player to watch

Surender Singh the captain of U Mumba is expected to be back after a long break due to injury. The commentators in the previous match have confirmed that Surender Singh has begun training with the team and if he takes an active part then the defence shall get a major boost. Ashish along with Guman can play effectively as a raider throughout the match.

The corner duo of Sumit and Nitesh have started to show glimpses of their form and have also started to involve in combination tackles. Guman Singh in the raiding department will be their only major threat and if the combo succeeds in tackling the raider then UP will have the huge advantage of winning the encounter.

Key to Success

Rohit Tomar has been supporting Pardeep Narwal as the secondary raider and will now be up against a strong U Mumba defence who have the most number of tackle points in PKL season 9. UP Yoddhas can also make use of Nitin Tomar who is one of the most experienced players and his composure can get a few crucial points in pressure situations.

U Mumba needs to rely on their original tactics of playing with five defenders and two raiders which have worked out for them since the start of the season. With the return of Surender Singh, the defence will become more strong making it difficult for Pardeep Narwal to score raid points.

Did you know

Pardeep Narwal from UP Yoddhas will be playing his 150th match against U Mumba in the Pro Kabaddi League. 

Broadcast

Time - 07:30 PM

Streaming - Star Sports / Disney + Hotstar