Pawan Kumar Sehrawat’s Bengaluru Bulls take on the inaugural champions Jaipur Pink Panthers in ‘Match 109’ of the Pro Kabaddi League Season 8 at the Sheraton Grand Convention Centre in Bengaluru on Friday.
The two teams are on opposite halves of the standings but the Panthers are in better form with 3 wins in their last 4 matches while the Bengaluru Bulls have managed just a solitary victory in their last 5 matches. The battle will be between Jaipur’s defenders Sahul Kumar and Sandeep Dhull who will be fighting Pawan Kumar Sehrawat’s brilliance on the mat.
How have they done so far?
In the 19 matches so far, the Bulls have bagged 9 wins and have faced 8 losses. With 55 points so far, the red brigade is one of the favorites to make it to the latter stages but they have to turn around their fortunes for the same. Pawan has to find support from his teammates who haven’t been up to the mark in the last few outings on the mat.
The inaugural champions are placed in the mid-table and are in a tricky spot at the moment. They have 8 wins in 17 matches while losing 7 of them as well while the franchise has been a part of two tied matches bagging 51 points in total. They will be hoping to continue their stellar run of form against the season 6 champions.
Head to Head Record
The Bulls have won 6 matches while Jaipur has been victorious in 7 matches in the 14 meetings between the two franchises in the history of the league with one match ending as a tie. In the previous meeting, Bengaluru Bulls won the match 38-31 as Arjun Deshwal and Pawan Kumar Sehrawat starred in the contest.
Key Players
Deepak Hooda has accumulated 45 raid points in the last five matches
Deepak Niwas Hooda: In the last five matches, the skipper has been performing well with 45 raid points and has been a force to reckon with. Arjun Deshwal has been in top form throughout the season and together the duo will wreak havoc in the defensive unit of the Jaipur Pink Panthers. He scored 5 raid points in the previous match against the Bengaluru Bulls and will be itching to make a better effort.
Pawan Kumar Sehrawat: The skipper has been the top raider in this edition with 244 raid points to his name so far. He scored 18 raid points in the previous match against the Jaipur-based franchise and this will be his chance to lead his team to another victory and complete a double over the opponents. In the previous match, Pawan Kumar bagged 12 points even in a losing cause against the Gujarat Giants.
Predicted Starting 7s
Bengaluru Bulls: Pawan Sehrawat, Mohit Sehrawat, Ankit, Bharat, G More, Saurabh Nandal, Aman
Jaipur Pink Panthers: Arjun Deshwal, Deepak Singh, Vishal, Deepak Hooda, Amit Nagar, Sahul Kumar, Sandeep Dhull
Prediction
The defensive department of the Bengaluru Bulls has been weak and against a resurgent raiding unit of the Pink Panthers, they will be the underdogs. Deepak Hooda and Arjun Deshwal are in top form at the moment and that makes Pink Panthers the favorites to win this encounter. The red outfit will require some effort to remain in the top half as they have been losing momentum.