Match number 84 of the Pro Kabaddi League season eight caravan brings another action-packed chapter of ‘The Kaveri Derby’ for the viewers. Pawan Kumar Sehrawat’s Bengaluru Bulls will be up against the Tamil Thalaivas franchise led by Surjeet at Sheraton Grand Whitefield Hotel in Bengaluru.
Tamil Thalaivas went through a forgettable outcome against Patna as they were crushed by Pirates with 28 points difference. It was the worst performance from the Chennai-based franchise in this season as they couldn’t even score half the points of Patna’s total. Coach J Udayakumar may replace all-rounder Himanshu with a proper raiding option. The offense department of the team was completely off-color in that clash while the defense managed to attain points here and there but with a minuscule success rate.
Despite Bengaluru’s dominating season eight campaign, U Mumba completed a double with a convincing victory over the Bulls. The Bulldozer cover defenders of the red army, Mahender Singh and Mayur Kadam were unable to contribute a single tackle point against Mumba. Captain Pawan as usual came up with a raiding masterclass and scored 14 raid points with enough support from second raider Bharat.
How have they done so far?
Bengaluru Bulls’ season eight campaign has been successful so far as they sustained their stance at the top of the points table for a long period. The high-profile roster has fulfilled the expectations of fans by performing exactly according to their big names. Although the Bengaluru gaffer Randhir Singh Sehrawat is yet to get rid of over-reliance on Pawan as it will cost them big in the future.
On the other hand, Tamil Thalaivas are having a converse season eight campaign than Bengaluru Bulls. They are currently standing in 10th position with only three wins from 13 fixtures and a winless run of five matches is haunting Tamil fans. At one point, Thalaivas’ first-ever playoffs qualification seemed certain but the circumstances have changed and they have to strive hard to turn the tables.
Head to head record
The Bulls have always been dominant forces against their regional counterparts as the red side stormed over Tamil seven times. Meanwhile, the Chennai-based franchise has only one victory and the sixth edition champions are also cruising on a six-match winning streak against them. In their previous encounter, Bengaluru edged out Thalaivas in a high-scoring fest earlier this season. Where every member of Thalaivas Starting 7 scored at least a point and four Bengaluru players claimed five or more than five points.
Key Players
Sagar Rathee: Tamil Thalaivas had a disastrous outing against Patna Pirates but the right corner Sagar Rathee was their sole positive from that clash. The Ordnance Factory product is leading the defensive charts alongside Jaideep Dahiya with 49 tackle points from 13 matches. His tally of six High 5s is also the highest in the PKL season eight caravan. We expected Surjeet or Sagar Krishna but the youngster has emerged as the best Thalaivas defender against the odds.
Fully charged guardian of Bengaluru
Saurabh Nandal: It’s his second season in the Pro Kabaddi League and Saurabh is on verge of scoring 50+ tackle points for a consecutive season. The Bulls coach Randhir spotted the right corner in the All India Inter-Railway Tournament where Nandal represented the Northern Railway side. He is the only Bengaluru defender in the list of Top 10 tackle points scorers so far shows how he has been the sole assailant for the Bulls. Although other defenders have failed to provide the necessary support to the Haryanvi defender.
Predicted Starting 7’s
Tamil Thalaivas: Manjeet Dahiya, Ajinkya Pawar, Bhavani Rajput, Surjeet (C), Mohit Jakhar, Sagar Rathee, Sagar Krishna
Bengaluru Bulls: Pawan Sehrawat (C), Bharat Hooda, Deepak Narwal, Mahender Singh, Mayur Kadam, Saurabh Nandal, Aman Antil
Prediction
The Karnataka-based franchise was able to take only eight match-points from their last five fixtures while Thalaivas claimed only one less than them. It will be a tough task for Surjeet’s defensive line to stop the storm of Pawan and the final results will be heavily dependent on the outcome of this battle.