Super Saturday can’t get better than this where three top-class encounters are set to take place on Day 31 of the Pro Kabaddi League Season 9. In the first game, Bengal Warriors will meet Gujarat Giants who are playing after a long gap.
After that, UP Yoddhas would look to move up themselves in their clash against Telugu Titans. The final match of the day will be between Jaipur Pink Panthers and Dabang Delhi.
Bengal Warriors are at the eighth spot in the points table with five victories whereas Gujarat Giants are in ninth. The Giants were exceptional against the top side Bengaluru Bulls where they defeated them in a crunch game. On the other hand, Bengal Warriors played a high-scoring draw against the UP Yoddhas in their previous clash.
Telugu Titans’ terrible run continues with too many losses on the trot. The previous match against Dabang Delhi was another one-sided affair. On the other hand, UP Yoddhas would look to outclass them and improve their position at the table. But, before this clash, they will compete against Haryana Steelers on Friday.
Jaipur Pink Panthers are one of the strongest sides in the league and are currently third in the points table. The Men in Pink won their previous clash against U Mumba and are now set to play against Patna Pirates first, on Friday and then Dabang Delhi in a much-anticipated clash.
Let us take a look at the previews and predictions of the Day 31 matches:
Match 73: Bengal Warriors vs Gujarat Giants
Bengal’s previous match against UP Yoddhas was a tough battle but there were a lot of positives for the side. The defense played a major role in the game especially Girish Maruti and Shubham Shinde. Skipper Maninder Singh too had a great match where he scored 18 raid points. This will certainly help them to tackle the Gujarat Giants on Saturday.
Gujarat Giants, on the other hand, hasn’t played for the last six days. But their last game was a complete turnaround for them. They defeated Bengaluru Bulls who are in the second position at the table. Super 10s from Parteek Dhaiya and Rakesh were the moments of the game but one should not avoid the contribution of Rinku Narwal. The defender scored four crucial points.
It’s a big game for both sides to improve their current position. Out of eight games played between them so far in the PKL history, both the teams became victorious thrice whereas two games remained drawn. So, the winner of this match will take the lead.
Maninder Singh, captain of Bengal Warriors, will be the player to watch out for in this battle whereas Parteek Dhaiya will be the key for the Giants. Both Gujarat Giants and Bengal Warriors are capable of beating each other but keeping in mind the last game, Ram Mehar Singh’s Gujarat will be slightly ahead. Also, we shouldn’t be surprised if the game ended in a draw.
Predicted Starting Seven
Gujarat Giants: Rakesh, Vijin Thangadurai, Arkam Shaikh, Parteek Dhaiya, Chandran Ranjit ©, Manuj, Rinku Narwal
Bengal Warriors: Maninder Singh, Vaibhav Garje, Balaji D, Deepak Hooda, Shrikant Jadhav, Shubham Shinde, Girish Maruti
Match 74: Telugu Titans vs UP Yoddhas
UP Yoddhas will be having an advantage over Telugu Titans in the encounter on Saturday
This game might look easy for UP Yoddhas but the franchise won’t take it lightly. They are in a crucial position right now and a victory from here can take them back into the tournament. On the other hand, Telugu Titans are almost out of contention for playoffs. They have lost 11 matches and won just a single game.
The last match against Delhi was a good game for Siddharth Desai but the champion player did not get enough support from his defenders. On the contrary, UP Yoddhas played a draw against Bengal Warriors which gave them some positives as well. Pardeep narwal & Co. would like to bring back their winning days with this match.
Talking about their head-to-head battles to date, Telugu Titans have only won twice while UP Yoddhas became victorious on seven occasions. Both sides have played two draw games so far in the history of the Pro Kabaddi League.
Once again, ‘Dubki King’ Pardeep Narwal will be the player to watch out for whereas Siddharth Desai would like to give his side their second victory of the season.
Clearly, UP Yoddhas are the favorites to win the battle. They are a pretty balanced side on paper, and it should not be too difficult to beat the under-confident Telugu Titans.
Predicted Starting Seven
Telugu Titans: Abhishek Singh, Surjeet Singh ©, Parvesh Bhainswal, Mohsen Maghsoudlou, Siddharth Desai, Ankit, Vishal Bharadwaj
UP Yoddhas: Pardeep Narwal ©, Ashu Singh, Shubham Kumar, James Kamweti, Rohit Tomar, Nitesh Kumar, Sumit
Match 75: Jaipur Pink Panthers vs Dabang Delhi
The Men in Pink are set to continue their winning momentum against Dabang Delhi on Saturday. But, with the last victory against Telugu Titans, Delhi are back in form. So, this is going to be a cracker of a game where both of them would look to become the table-toppers.
The Panthers won against U Mumba in their previous game which must have given them confidence. Arjun Deshwal once again became the hero of the match with 15 raid points to his name. He got good support from the defending unit including Ankush and Lucky Sharma.
Dabang Delhi, on the other hand, too won their previous encounter against Telugu Titans. This might have been an easy game for them, but their consecutive losses were a point of worry for them. Now, captain Naveen Kumar would like to keep the tone high with another similar performance from the unit. Ashu Malik and Naveen himself played their level best against the Titans.
You will be surprised to know that Dabang Delhi has only won seven times against the Panthers whereas the latter became the winner 10 times to date. Two clashes remained a draw in the end. Naveen Kumar will be on everyone’s mind in this match whereas Arjun Deshwal will be the player to watch out for from Jaipur Pink Panthers. With two back-to-back victories, the Panthers will be a bit ahead in this game.
Predicted Starting Seven
Dabang Delhi: Naveen Kumar ©, Ravi Kumar, Vishal, Manjeet, Ashu Malik, Krishan, Vijay Kumar
Jaipur Pink Panthers: Arjun Deshwal, Sunil Kumar ©, Reza Mirbagheri, Rahul Chaudhari, V Ajith, Sahul Kumar, Ankush