PKL 11: Key battles to watch out for in match 15 Patna Pirates vs Tamil Thalaivas

Tamil Thalaivas kicked off PKL 11 with two consecutive wins.

Patna Pirates will look to register their maiden win of the season against Tamil Thalaivas in match 15 of season 11 of the Pro Kabaddi League. The Thalaivas are sitting comfortably in the top half of the points table with two wins from two games. It has been contrasting starts for both sides in PKL 11and the result from their previous game says the whole story.

Both were up against the defending champions Puneri Paltan in their previous PKL 11 game with Thalaivas coming out triumphing while the Pirates suffered a humiliating loss which pushed them to the bottom of the PKL 11 points table. Not a place they are used to having made the most playoffs and won the most titles in the history of the league.

Since they have a new look squad with many new youngsters and a new captain in Shubham Shinde. Narender Redu and his management would want to get the combination for the starting seven right as many were left confused with the likes of M Sudhakar and Jang Kun Lee warming the bench in the PKL 11 opener.

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For Thalaivas it has been a great start to the PKL 11 season and they would want to continue the momentum. They would be aware of the back-to-back matches this week and if they could win games at the start, it would boost the confidence of the squad. It won’t be easy as Pirates are known to achieve success with unknown talents and only time will tell what they can offer this season.

For this game, a win is something both teams want to have and players from both teams will be eyeing to outplay each other. Here are some of the key battles which could play a role in the outcome of the match.

Sachin Tanwar vs Shubham Shinde

Tamil Thalaivas seem to be well prepared for the season, first with the hiring of Dharmaraj Cheralathan as their strategy coach who was determined to get Sachin Tanwar at the auction at any cost. The team from Tamilnadu wanted a consistent lead raider to attack in tandem with Narender Kandola. The tall left raider fits into the bill and was snapped by them for 2.15 cr in the auction.

Another factor favoured in the selection of Sachin is being a Do-or-die raid specialist as he is to replace Ajinkya Pawar, who has been a Picasso of it in the last few years. Sachin has started on a positive note but he will have a huge challenge in the form of Shubham Shinde.

The right corner defender has the upper hand over Sachin in the last two seasons with 6-4 including in Do-or-die raids. Sachin would want to get the better of Shubham and for the defender, who has come back to his old team to take over the captaincy, he wants to win the battle and the game.

Sudhakar M vs Sahil Gulia

Season 10 saw Sudhakar M making his debut in the Pro Kabaddi League for Patna Pirates. The man from Tamilnadu was scoring points and when he arrived for the Chennai leg of the season he transformed into a different player. With an 11-point performance, he helped the Pirates beat the home team Tamil Thalaivas.

Patna Pirates had retained him and was expected to feature in the starting seven. But the coach had other ideas as he was asked to sit in the bench. Given his record against Thalaivas, Sudhakar will be back in the lineup and could pose a threat to the Thalaivas defence. With uncertainty over Sagar and his 2-1 edge over Sahil Gulia, he would be eager to come back and continue his good run.

Narender Kandola vs Ankit

PKL is all about youngsters showing their talent at the big stage and two such talents will come face to face on a Friday evening. The New Young Player (NYP) of Season nine Narender Kandola of Tamil Thalaivas and season 10’s most expensive NYP all-rounder Ankit Jaglan will be battling out to get the bragging rights for their team.

Narender has been sensational for Thalaivas taking them to their first-ever playoffs in season nine and Ankit in his debut season scored a whopping 66 tackle points in season 10. Both did cross their path last season with the right corner defender having the last laugh. With momentum and the winning run, Dubki Prince will be ready for the next chapter of this battle.

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