PKL 9: Patna Pirates to start their campaign against Puneri Paltan

Ravi Shetty will coach the three-time champion side this season.

Last Pro Kabaddi League (PKL) season, Patna Pirates were the most consistent team. They topped the table only to lose in the finals to Dabang Delhi. Patna Pirates defense made their opponents sweat for every point. Playing in his first season at left corner Mohammadreza decimated opponents with ease. But unfortunately for the Pirates, he won't be available for the first game.

Last time, Puneri Paltan got into their act a little too late. Despite some courageous performances that helped them reach the play-off, they were unable to compete with the stronger teams. However, the Paltan can present surprises this time. To bolster their defence, they acquired Iranians Fazel Attrachali and Mohamad Nabibaksh for season 9 but they too won't be available for the game.

Squad

Predicted Starting seven of Patna Pirates

Neeraj Kumar, Sunil, Monu, Sachin Tanwar, Rohit Gulia, Abdul Insamam and Sajin

Predicted Starting seven of Puneri Paltan

Sombir, Aslam Inamdar, Abinesh Nadarajan, Mohit Goyat, Sanket Sawant, Pankaj Mohite and Balasaheb Jadhav

Head to head record

Both sides have faced each other 17 times in the competition and Patna has beaten the Pune based franchise on 13 occasions while Pune has won just 2 games against the Pirates.

Players to watch out for:

For Patna all eyes will be on Sachin Tanwar as he will have to do the bulk of raiding this time with not many support raiders. On the other hand for Puneri Paltan Aslam Inamdar would be under the spotlight after his impressive performances in season 8.

Key to success:

The Pirates are unquestionably the favourites to win the match if Patna's defence has a good day on the mat and provided Sachin and Rohit Gulia perform as expected in the raiding department they can definitely start with a win. As for Puneri Paltan, Aslam and Mohit's performance will determine whether they are able to compete against the three time champions.

Telecast

Catch all the live action between the two teams on Star Sports and Disney Plus Hotstar from 8:30 PM on October 8.