Haryana Steelers and Tamil Thalaivas will battle it out in ‘Match 102’ of the Pro Kabaddi League at the Sheraton Grand Convention Centre in Bengaluru on Tuesday.
The Tamil Thalaivas have been inconsistent but given the prowess of the franchise, they will be one of the favorites to make it to the playoffs. It will be a contest between the raiding unit of the Steelers and the defensive unit of the Thalaivas and that battle will potentially decide the fate of the contest.
How have they done so far?
The Haryana Steelers are in the top half of the table with 8 wins and 6 losses in the 17 matches so far. A score difference of -4 will be a concern for the franchise as the race for the playoffs is heating up. The Steelers have lost a solitary fixture in their last 5 matches.
The Tamil Thalaivas have tied 6 out of their 16 matches. They have 5 wins and as many losses in the tournament and are in the bottom half of the table. With 45 points in the season so far, they will be aiming to win at least 4 out of the last 6 matches and make the cut to the playoffs.
Head to Head Record
Three out of the six matches between the two franchises have ended in a tie while the Haryana Steelers have been victorious in a solitary match.
The Tamil Thalaivas have won a couple of matches, which includes a win from earlier this season. The Surjeet Singh-led franchise trounced their opponents 45-26 in the reverse fixture.
Key Players
Sagar has the most points this season for a defender
Sagar: The defender is leading the charts in this season of the PKL with 67 points. He has been in exquisite form and has a godly strike rate of 67% in the league so far. He has picked 25 points in his last four matches and his performance might as well influence the result of the match. The defender scored 7 points in the previous match against the Steelers and was ably supported by Surjeet who scored 8 points. The duo will be aiming to repeat the performance.
Vikas Kandola: The skipper has been consistent throughout the season and is one of the top 5 raiders. With 143 raid points in PKL 8, he is a force to reckon with and will be a threat for the Sagar-Surjeet duo. He was the lone warrior for the team against the Thalaivas earlier this season with 9 points.
Predicted Starting 7s
Tamil Thalaivas: Manjeet Dahiya, Ajinkya Pawar, Surjeet (C), Mohit Jakhar, Sagar Rathee, M Abhishek, Sahil Gulia
Haryana Steelers: Vikash Kandola (C), Vinay Tewatia, Ashish Narwal, Jaideep Dahiya, Mohit Nandal, Surender Nada, Ravi Kumar
Prediction
Haryana Steelers have been one of the more well-rounded units off late in the tournament. Although the Thalaivas have been strong defensively and will hold the advantage against the Vikas Kandola-led franchise, they will be the underdogs going into this encounter. The added pressure of avoiding a loss to stay in contention for the playoffs can be a burden as well.