The classic rivalry between Mumbai and Chennai is back in the rivalry week of Pro Kabaddi League Season 8 caravan. The Sturdy Tamil Thalaivas side will be marching against the U Mumba side in Match 95 at Sheraton Grand Whitefield Hotel in Bengaluru.
U Mumba coach Subramanian Rajaguru hails from the Tamil Nadu state although the former cover defender never represented his homeland at the grand stage of Pro Kabaddi. Another Tamilian talisman V Ajith Kumar will be seen in Mumba’s orange colors against the Chennai-based franchise. On the other hand, two former MumBoys, captain Surjeet and MS Athul are now part of the Tamil Thalaivas roster for season eight.
The previous face-off ended on a 30-30 settlement between these two familiar foes where former Thalaivas lad Ajith starred for Mumba as his contribution of 15 raid points was 83% of the team’s offense tally. A collective effort from the Thalaivas forced the second edition champions to share match-points with them.
Tamil Thalaivas do not need any changes to the Starting 7 as the combination of two raiders and five defenders is doing wonders for coach J Udayakumar. Despite the previous foiled outing, Rajaguru must be proud of his boys for putting up a tough fight although Sunil Siddhagawli may lose his spot if the first-choice right cover Ashish Sangwan proves his match fitness.
How have they done so far?
It seems like Thalaivas overcame their winless run of five matches as the Chennai-based franchise convincingly claimed all match-points from their previous fixtures. The previous Southern Derby victory over Telugu Titans helped them to surpass U Mumba with a one-point edge over the counterparty. It will be the first playoff qualification for Thalaivas in their franchise history if this Surjeet led roster continues their current form in upcoming fixtures too.
Things are going out of the hands of U Mumba in such a crucial stage of season eight. Two consecutive defeats have crushed the momentum of the Maharashtrian capital and it will be a tough task for Fazel Atrachali and his boys to regain it.
U Mumba is cruising on an unbeaten run from the last four encounters and is dominating the head-to-head record with four victories from six games. While Tamil Thalaivas have an equal number of wins and ties (1) in this classic Mumbai-Chennai battle. Although this Tamil side is different from any other earlier roster and has true potential to break this deadlock.
Key Players
V Ajith Kumar: Ajith was the best raider of the match in their previous fixture where he was the only Super 10 scorer of the Maharashtrian Derby. He emerged as the one-man army in the raiding department when he faced his homeland franchise earlier this season but completely lacked the support from other Mumba raiders. Hence all eyes will be on this Tamizhan wonderboy who is emerging as a spearhead for the Mumbai side.
Sagar Rathee has scored the most tackle points this season so far
Sagar Rathee: A 12-point difference between Sagar and the second-highest tackle points scorer Jaideep Dahiya shows that the right corner defender is on a whole different level. His tally of whopping nine tackle points with a strike rate of 90% will surely haunt the Mumba raiding unit. Thalaivas fans will be hoping for another masterclass performance in this crucial game from the best defender of the season.
Predicted Starting 7’s
U Mumba: Abhishek Singh, V Ajith Kumar, Ajinkya Kapre, Harendra Kumar, Sunil Siddhagawli, Fazel Atrachali, Rinku Sharma
Tamil Thalaivas: Manjeet Dahiya, Ajinkya Pawar, Surjeet (C), Mohit Jakhar, Sagar Rathee, M Abhishek, Sahil Gulia
Prediction
Both teams are closest to each other in the points table as Thalaivas is in the fifth position while the sixth position is held by U Mumba. Mumbai has always been dominant against Thalaivas but the current form of the Chennai-based franchise gives them a nod over the counterparts.