Maninder Singh’s Bengal Warriors lock horns with Naveen Kumar’s Dabang Delhi in ‘Match 106’ of the Pro Kabaddi League Season 8 at the Sheraton Grand Convention Centre in Bengaluru on Thursday. Incidentally, the previous matches of both the teams have ended in a tie and with the race of the playoffs heating up, they will be itching to bag the 5 points from this encounter.
This will be a repeat of last year’s final. Bengal Warriors and Dabang Delhi have struggled with their defensive units and even statistically have been the worst this season. Naveen and Maninder have carried the two teams on their shoulders.
How have they done so far?
With 9 wins from 17 matches, Dabang Delhi is in the top half of the table. The runners-up from the previous season will be hoping to bag all 5 points and eclipse the Haryana Steelers who are in the second spot with a one-point lead but Delhi have a game in hand. Delhi have won only two out of their last five matches and due to heavy defeats, they have a score difference of 1.
On the other hand, Bengal Warriors have won 7 matches out of the 17 they have played so far. They have bagged 44 points in this season and will be hoping to spark a turn in fortunes with 3 losses in their last five matches. Their score difference of -46 is the second-worst in the league, only behind the struggling Telugu Titans. The title defense hasn’t been as they would have liked and Maninder Singh’s franchise will hope that the defence steps up to the occasion.
Head to Head Record
Both the teams have shared honors so far with 7 wins each in the 16 meetings with 2 matches ending in a tie. In the previous match between the two franchises, Dabang Delhi trounced the Bengal Warriors 52-35. The franchise avenged their defeat from the previous season’s final and was better throughout the match. On the back of impressive performances from Vijay as well as Naveen, Delhi had a whopping raid strike rate of 90%.
Key Players
Maninder Singh has been one of the best raiders in this season
Maninder Singh: The Bengal Warriors skipper has been the lone silver lining for the franchise in this season of the PKL. He has scored 215 raid points and has been the second-best raider in the league so far. The next best raider for the Warriors has been Mohammad Nabibaksh with 67 raid points and that highlights how much the franchise is reliant on their captain. The last time these two teams met, he picked up 16 raid points but couldn’t steer the team to the victory and would be hoping to reverse it.
Naveen Kumar: The raider started off the tourney on a stellar note but off late, Naveen has been inconsistent. He has picked up 13 raid points in the previous match against the Bengaluru Bulls and the franchise will be hoping that he delivers against the defending champions. In the reverse fixture, Naveen Kumar picked up 24 raid points and led them to a victory. The skipper has been instrumental in Dabang Delhi’s performance this season and he will be one of the vital cogs in the business end of the league stage for the team.
Predicted Starting 7s
Bengal Warriors: Maninder Singh, Mohammad Nabibaksh, Manoj Gowda, Rohit Banne, Sukesh Hegde, Abozar Mighani, Ran Singh
Dabang Delhi: Naveen Kumar, Krishan, Manjeet Chillar, Vijay, Ashu Malik, Sandeep Narwal, Joginder Narwal
Prediction
The defensive department of the defending champions has been a weakness. If Naveen Kumar shows a glimpse of his potential, Dabang Delhi will be winning this encounter. Overall, with the kind of form, the Delhi team has been in currently, it will take a mammoth turnaround from the Bengal Warriors to repeat the result of last year’s finale.