Vikas Kandola’s Haryana Steelers will face off with the in-form Puneri Paltan in ‘Match 108’ of the Pro Kabaddi League Season 8 at the Sheraton Grand Convention Centre in Bengaluru on Friday. Both the teams have been impressive in their last few encounters and hence it promises to be a thrilling encounter between the two teams which are placed in opposite halves of the points table.
How have they done so far?
The Puneri Paltan has played the least matches in the league so far and that has been the reason they are second from bottom in the standings. They have accumulated 42 points with 8 wins and will be hoping to continue their run from the covid-enforced break with Mohit Goyat expected to lead the resurgence in the coming days.
Haryana Steelers have registered a hat-trick of wins and with 58 points in the season so far, they are favorites to book a place in the latter stages. The Steelers will be aiming to boost their score difference which is just +4 at the moment and that will be a crucial factor if the teams are tied on points at the end of the league stage.
Head to Head Record
In the 9 meetings so far between the Haryana Steelers and Puneri Paltan, the Pune-based franchise has an edge with 5 wins while the Steelers have won 4 matches. Earlier this season, the Steelers won the match 37-30 as Mohit and Jaideep scored 7 points each in the defensive department. However, Pune is a much better team than that showing and it was their last loss in the ongoing league season.
Key Players
Ashish: The all-rounder had one of the best, if not the best match of his career with 13 points from as many raids and 3 successful tackles from as many attempted against the Tamil Thalaivas. With a 100% raid strike rate, he was a surprise hero for the franchise in the previous encounter. The player, who is playing his second season in the league, will be the prime raider for the franchise and will be hoping for support from skipper Vikas Kandola.
Mohit Goyat: Puneri Paltan’s raiding unit has been lackluster in the entire season but one player who has stood out has been Mohit Goyat. The raider has scored at least 9 raid points in his last five matches and has been one of the vital cogs in their impressive run in the recent matches. Overall, he has been on the mat for close to 70% of the times which is impressive considering that he has been the key raider for a while.
Predicted Starting 7s
Haryana Steelers to keep the Tamil Thalaivas defense quiet throughout the contest?
Haryana Steelers: Vikash Kandola (C), Vinay Tewatia, Ashish Narwal, Jaideep Dahiya, Mohit Nandal, Surender Nada, Ravi Kumar
Puneri Paltan: Abhinesh Nadarajan, Sanket Sawant, Aslam Inamdar, Mohit Goyat, Nitin Tomar, Sombit, Karamvir
Prediction
The Puneri Paltan has suffered with match postponements just when they have hit their best form of the season. The franchise has won 4 out of their last 4 matches and have been in stellar form but Haryana Steelers have also had a stellar run in the last few matches.
The Puneri Paltan’s raiding unit has been improving and that will be one of the challenges for the Steelers. If the Pune-based franchise’s defensive unit fares well against the opposition’s raiders, Pune will hold an advantage. Overall, the Nitin Tomar-led franchise will be the favorites starting this match.