PKL 9: UP Yoddhas, Bengaluru Bulls will clash for a spot in top two

Pardeep Narwal will look to take his team directly to semis.

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.

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Bengaluru Bulls

Raiders: Vikash Kandola, More G B, Lala Mohar Yadav, Neeraj Narwal, Harmanjit Singh, Bharat, Nageshor Tharu

Defenders: Mahender Singh(c), Saurabh Nandal, Mayur Kadam, Sudhakar Krishant, Rohit Kumar, Vinod Naik, Aman, Rajnesh, Yash Hooda

All-Rounders: Sachin Narwal, Rahul Khatik

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

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.

Key to Sucess

The secondary raiding unit along with captain Mahender Singh needs to step up with the team losing the last few matches. Mahender Singh in particular has scored only one high 5 and has been very inconsistent being one of the most experienced defenders in the side. 

UP Yoddhas looks like a settled unit with Rohit Tomar helping Pardeep Narwal in an attack in the absence of Surender Gill. The cover defenders (Ashu and Gurdeep) will be targeted by Bharat with Ashu, particularly in poor form.

Did you Know

Pardeep Narwal from UP Yoddhas has featured in 150 matches at the Pro Kabaddi League scoring 1546 raid points.

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Time - 08:30 PM

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