PKL 11: Key battles to watch out for in match 23, Bengal Warriorz vs Puneri Paltan

Gaurav Khatri leads the chart with most tackle points in PKL 11.

The match 23 of season 11 of the Pro Kabaddi League (PKL 11) will see Bengal Warriorz take on the defending champions Puneri Paltan. Following their championship-winning season, the reigning champions have continued to easily dominate opponents.

Tamil Thalaivas ended their winning streak in PKL 11 by denying the raiding trio of Aslam Inamdar, Pankaj Mohite, and Mohit Goyat easy points with their plan of starting with a defensively strong seven. Pune quickly recognized the plan and devised an alternate strategy to get back to winning ways in the PKL 11 game.

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The Bengal Warriorz, their rivals have had a wild season, winning, losing, and tying in their first three PKL 11 games. The Warriorz would like to put together a string of wins to keep themselves in the hunt. If they could defeat the reigning champions, it would be a huge boost to their confidence.

They have an outstanding captain in Fazel Atrachali who has been handling their defence. Although Maninder Singh hasn’t been at his best, the young Nitin Dhankar has been causing the damage. Sushil Kambrekar’s recent discovery is also making things difficult for the rival defence. Let’s look into a few battles that will be key to the team’s chances.

Fazel Atrachali vs Mohit Goyat

If a team has an advantage before the start of the game, then it has to be the team that has Fazel Atrachali. Such is the aura of the Iranian defender who has been consistently performing in the League ever since he made his debut. But as they say in sports, every day is a new day and one has to perform to get a win, it becomes true in the case of Fazel against Puneri Paltan.

The last season saw Fazel-led Gujarat beat most of the teams but they lost to Puneri Paltan in both the matches. One of the primary reasons was how Fazel was neutralized by Mohit Goyat. The right raider’s shift raids enticed Atrachali to commit errors as he couldn’t stay on the court to control the game. The Iranian would be eager to set things right against Mohit on Tuesday.

Gaurav Khatri vs Maninder Singh

Maninder Singh has been synonymous with Bengal Warriorz for years. For the fans of the Warriorz, it gives a soothing feeling to see him start the game with calmness and quickly score points throughout the game to take his team closer to victory. The last few years have seen a slight decline in his form and the left raider seemed to have rejuvenated himself for this season.

With longer raids, he has been able to control the game with his presence creating pressure for the opposition raiders. He will have a huge challenge against Paltan, with Gaurav Khatri at the right corner, the cornerstone for men in orange. He will again be the primary challenge for Maninder & Co. and if he can overcome it, then Warriorz could be registering their second win.

Abinesh Nadarajan vs Nitin Dhankar

Nitin Dhankar Kumar was a revelation last year for Bengal Warriorz in a disappointing season. The season seven champions finished seventh in the points table and Nitin’s 169 points helped the team finish at the position and put himself at the seventh position for most raid points for the season. Despite all his accolades in season 10, he couldn’t crack the Paltan puzzle.

The Paltan had an impressive defense with young Abinesh Nadarajan being an important cog in the wheel. The team recognized it in the early stages of the tournament as he was carried on the shoulders at his home state in the Chennai leg. He was unstoppable against Nitin, tackling him successfully in all occasions last year. It will be interesting to see how Nitin responds for the battle.

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