Match 98 of the Pro Kabaddi League Season 8 will see second-placed Patna Pirates go up against the tenth-placed Bengal Warriors at the Sheraton Grand Whitefield Hotel and Convention Centre in Bengaluru on Sunday.
The Patna Pirates have 55 points in the bag winning ten out of their fifteen games so far and is only behind table-toppers Dabang Delhi by two points. Patna have won three out of their last five games and come into this game on the back of a scintillating 43-23 win over Gujarat Giants.
On the other hand, Bengal Warriors has only two wins from their last five games and is placed tenth on the table with seven wins from sixteen games gathering 41 points so far.
How have they done so far?
Patna Pirates started their campaign on a positive note with a 42-39 victory over Haryana Steelers in their opening game of the season courtesy of brilliant performances from Monu Goyat (15 points), Prashanth Kumar Rai, and Sachin (seven points each).
In terms of their most recent fixture, the Patna Pirates beat the Gujarat Giants by 20 points riding on performances by Guman Singh (11 points) while Mohammadreza Chiyaneh and Sachin contributed with (eight and six points) respectively.
Meanwhile, Bengal Warriors too started the season with a win over UP Yoddha 38-33. Mohammad Nabibakhsh was the star that night with (11 points) while Sukesh Hegde and Maninder Singh picked up (eight and seven points) respectively.
However, coming into the most recent fixtures, the Warriors have lost two successive games. They suffered a heavy 46-29 defeat at the hands of Haryana Steelers in their last game with skipper Maninder Singh picking up 13 points but unfortunately could not find much support from the rest of the side.
Head to Head record
Patna Pirates and Bengal Warriors have taken on each other eighteen times so far. Patna Pirates has the better record of the two sides with eleven wins in comparison to Bengal’s four, with the two teams playing out three draws. When the two sides met earlier this season, the Patna Pirates crushed Bengal Warriors 44-30.
Key Players
Bengal Warriors skipper Maninder Singh will be key to his team’s chances against Patna Pirates
Mohammadreza Chiyaneh: Mohammadreza Chiyaneh has been phenomenal this season. He is the third-highest successful defender this season with 52 tackle points from 15 games. Chiyaneh has also picked up five high 5’s so far. Against the likes of Maninder and company, he will have a key role to play in the defense once again.
Maninder Singh: Bengal Warriors’ skipper Maninder Singh became only the second raider to reach 200 raid points this season. He also has twelve Super 10s to his name, second on the list only to Pawan Sehrawat. Against a strong Patna side, Maninder will be expected to deliver under pressure.
Predicted Starting 7’s
Patna Pirates: Guman Singh, Prashanth Kumar Rai, Sachin Tanwar, Neeraj Kumar, Sunil, C Sajin, Mohammadreza Chiyaneh
Bengal Warriors: Anand V, Maninder Singh, Sukesh Hegde, Abozar Mighani, Mohammad Nabibakhsh, Ran Singh, Vishal Mane
Prediction
Patna Pirates has won their last two games coming into this clash on a good run. In Guman Singh, Monu Goyat, Sachin, and Prashanth Kumar Rai, they have a solid raiding unit. To add on, their defense has been working equally well with Mohammadreza Chiyaneh leading the charge.
Bengal Warriors meanwhile have solely been dependent on Maninder Singh. And thus we feel that the Warriors will face a stiff challenge against the Pirates and will go into the game as underdogs.