Both the in-form teams U.P. Yoddha and Puneri Paltan will go up against one another in the 60th match of the Pro Kabaddi League Season 8 at the Sheraton Grand Convention Centre in Bengaluru on Monday.
U.P. Yoddhas have been lethal with their raiding as Surender Gill and Shrikant Jadhav have stepped up to the occasion. Gill has been the main raider as Pardeep Narwal has been lackluster. The Yoddha have revised their strategy and have substituted Pardeep off the mat in the second half in the previous matches.
Puneri Paltan has been reliant on their young players with Mohit Goyat and Aslam Inamdar along with Nitin Tomar who has been impressive in the league since his return from injury.
How have they done so far?
U.P. Yoddha is on a 3-match unbeaten run and has climbed into the top half of the standings. In the 10 matches they have played, the franchise has 3 wins and as many tied matches. They have lost 4 matches and have accumulated 28 points in the league stage so far.
Even though they have 4 wins in the tourney so far, Puneri Paltan is lying in the bottom half of the table. They have lost 5 matches and have a score difference of -11. They pulled off an upset against U Mumba in the previous match and will be high on confidence.
Head to Head Record
In the 5 meetings between the two franchises, U.P. Yoddhas have won 3 matches while the Puneri Paltan has won two matches. Nitesh Kumar led the Yoddha to a 43-39 victory in the previous match between the two franchises. In the reverse fixture, Shrikant Jadhav scored 15 raid points.
Key Players
Aslam Inamdar scored 7 points against Puneri Paltan
Nitesh Kumar: The skipper fared well against the same opponent in the previous season and that will give him a psychological advantage. In the previous match against the Telugu Titans, he scored 7 points in his best performance in the ongoing PKL edition. Sumit has been desperate for some support and Nitesh’s form will be a respite for the franchise.
Aslam Inamdar: The young raider made his PKL debut this season and has been impressive from the word go. He has become one of Pune’s main raiders in the absence of Rahul Chaudhari and Nitin Tomar. He has picked 5 or more raid points in 4 out of the last 5 matches and has also chipped in with valuable contributions in the raiding department.
Predicted Starting 7s
Puneri Paltan: Aslam Inamdar, Mohit Goyat, Nitin Tomar, Baldev Singh, Vishal Bhardwaj, Sanket Sawant, Abhineesh Natarajan
U.P. Yoddha: Surender Gill, Nitesh Kumar, Sumit, Pardeep Narwal, Shrikant Jadhav, Gurdeep, Mohammad Taghi
Prediction
Both the teams have won their last matches and the performances are on their way upwards. However, have been better in both the departments of the match and hence, they will be the favorites going into this encounter.