After a superhit weekend of the Pro Kabaddi League Season 9, it’s time for Day 4 of the esteemed league with two ultimate games set to take place on Monday. Four of the strongest teams in the league will play their second game at Bengaluru’s Shree Kanteerava Indoor Stadium, which is the fixed venue for the first leg of the league stage.
Season 2 champions U Mumba will be up against UP Yoddha, which will feature everyone’s favourite Pardeep Narwal, while Dabang Delhi will take on Gujarat Giants in Match 2 of Day 4.
The Giants had an epic encounter against Tamil Thalaivas on Saturday that ended in a tie, whereas last season’s champions, Dabang Delhi, won their first encounter comfortably against U Mumba in the opening game of the PKL 9 on Friday.
Moreover, Pardeep Narwal’s UP Yoddha clinched a remarkable victory over the Jaipur Pink Panthers with a score of 34-32 in their first battle. Dubki King Pardeep had a terrible first half of the game but came back strongly to put his side across the winning line.
Let’s take a look at the preview and predictions for the Day 4 matches:
Match 10: U Mumba vs UP Yoddha
In a tough game on Monday, U Mumba, champions of the second season, will square off against UP Yoddha. The Men in Orange, who have always been one of the strongest sides in the league, have failed to deliver their best performances over the past few seasons. They stood at the tenth position in the previous season with just 7 victories to their name out of 22 matches.
UP Yoddha, on the other hand, were exceptional in the previous edition by qualifying for the playoffs. Their showstopper, Pardeep Narwal, played a handy part in taking his side into the playoffs. Because of their extensive experience on the side, the team is hoping to go above and beyond this time.
Out of the eight matches played between then and now, U Mumba has won three, while UP Yoddhas have become victorious four times, whereas one game ended in a tie that happened on January 1, 2022. The stats between the two teams show that they are nearly equal in terms of skills and performance, and they will be looking to improve their head-to-head count this time.
With heroics from Delhi’s Naveen Kumar in their first game, U Mumba lost the battle by 27-41. However, the franchise must have learnt from its mistakes and will try to come back in style. None of the players from U Mumba impressed in the first match, including Guman Singh and skipper Surinder Singh. While Guman could only earn 4 raid points, Surinder just managed to score 2 tackle points. Guman Singh will once again be the man to watch out for in the game against UP Yoddha.
The Yoddha might be high on confidence right now with a scintillating victory over the Jaipur Pink Panthers in their first encounter, the team would be hoping to win games with sheer dominance. A team with some big stars, including Pardeep Narwal, Nitin Tomar, and Surender Gill, would always want to finish on a high.
With UP looking more balanced in this game as compared to U Mumba, they will start as favourites to win the battle. However, a couple of exceptional performances from U Mumba can keep them alive in the game.
Predicted Starting Seven
U Mumba: Guman Singh, Surinder Singh (C), Harendra Kumar, Ashish, Shivam, Rinku, Mohit
UP Yoddha: Pardeep Narwal, Ashu Singh, Shubham Kumar, Surender Gill, Rohit Tomar, Nitesh Kumar (C), Sumit
Match 11: Dabang Delhi vs Gujarat Giants
Dabang Delhi, champions of the previous edition, will take the field against Ram Mehar Singh’s Gujarat Giants. The contest is going to be super exciting with both teams being high on confidence. With Delhi winning the one-sided affair against U Mumba in their first game, Gujarat Giants showed their class against Tamil Thalaivas, keeping the game to a tie at 31-31 on Saturday.
Dabang Delhi defeated Patna Pirates in the final of the previous edition to lift the trophy and seemed like they would continue from their only when Naveen Kumar’s team took on U Mumba in the opening battle of the PKL 9. Gujrat Giants, on the other hand, made it to the playoffs last season but lost to Bengaluru Bulls before making their exit.
Looking at their head-to-head battles to date, Gujarat Giants are ahead with 5 victories, while Dabang Delhi has just won 3 games against them, and two matches ended in a tie. On paper, the Giants must be ahead of the Dabangs, but Naveen Kumar & Co. are riding high on success these days and can reduce this lead easily.
Coming back to this season, Naveen Kumar’s Super 10 in the very first game helped snatch the victory against the Mumbai-based franchise. The victory must have given a huge amount of motivation to the Delhi players. Gujarat Giants have to play at their level best to beat Delhi in the super clash on Monday. From the Gujarat Giants, Chandran, Ranjit, and Rakesh will be the players to watch out for.
Keeping with the current form of the players of Dabang Delhi, the team will have an advantage over Gujarat Giants in Match 11 of the PKL 9. But the past record of Ram Mehar Singh’s coaching is unmatchable. He would do anything to make his team win the game. We can expect a thriller for sure.
Predicted Starting Seven
Dabang Delhi: Naveen Kumar (C), Ravi Kumar, Vishal, Manjeet, Ashu Malik, Krishan, Sandeep Dhull
Gujarat Giants: Chandran Ranjit (C), Rakesh, Sourav Gulia, Arkam Shaikh, Parteek Dhaiya, Shankar Gadai, Rinku Narwal