Nitesh Kumar’s U.P. Yoddha will lock horns with Maninder Singh-coached Gujarat Giants in ‘Match 110’ of the Pro Kabaddi League Season 8 at the Sheraton Grand Convention Centre in Bengaluru. The two teams are coming off impressive but close victories in their previous matches and will clash in the third of the three matches on the triple-header Friday.
U.P. Yoddha has made it to the playoffs in every season in which they have been a part of the league. They will be banking on their raiding duo of Pardeep and Surender to take advantage of the Giants’ defense.
How have they done so far?
U.P Yoddha has registered victories in their last two matches and has 7 wins in 18 encounters in the PKL 8 so far. They have accumulated 52 points and are packed in the mid-table logjam as the race to the playoffs intensifies. In the previous match, they held their nerves to get the better of Tamil Thalaivas.
After 18 matches, the Gujarat Giants are two points behind the Yoddha and are placed at the 7th position. They have 7 wins and 8 losses but the close losses have made a difference to the points tally of the Yoddha. In the previous match against the Telugu Titans, the Giants took the lead in the end moments of the match and got the better of the bottom-ranked Titans.
Head to Head Record
The two teams made an entry in the league in PKL season 5. They have met 6 times with 3 wins for the Gujarat Giants while the U.P. Yoddha have bagged a solitary win in the head-to-head battle with two matches ending as ties. The previous meeting in this season ended in a 32-32 tie where Pardeep Narwal and Rakesh Narwal were impressive in the raiding department as they completed their super 10s while Surender Gill supported Pardeep with 6 points.
Key Players
Pardeep Narwal completed a super 10 in the previous match against the Tamil Thalaivas
Pardeep Narwal: The raider scored 8 raid points from his 10 raids in the first half against a strong defensive unit of the Tamil Thalaivas which has the likes of Sagar and Surjeet Singh. He showed glimpses of his old self and was one of the highlights of the match. Surender Gill was stupendous in the second half and the duo will wreak havoc against the Gujarat Giants who have struggled in the defense.
Parvesh Bhainswal: A lot was expected out of Parvesh Bhainswal but he has scored only 34 tackle points in this edition of the PKL. The defender has blown hot and cold and that will be a concern for the Giants ahead of their clash against a strong raiding unit of Pardeep Narwal and Surender Gill. He will require support from the other defenders as well.
Predicted Starting 7s
UP Yoddha: Pardeep Narwal, Shrikant Jadhav, Surender Gill, Shubham Kumar Baliyan, Ashu Singh, Nitesh Kumar (C), Sumit Sangwan
Gujarat Giants: Ajay Kumar. Sunil Kumar, Parvesh Bhainswal, Rakesh Narwal, Rakesh Sangroya, Pradeep Kumar, Girish Maruti Ernak
Prediction
Both the teams have been inconsistent but the U.P. Yoddha have been a well-rounded side so far. With 2 wins in their last couple of matches, they have been looking like a better team and will be the favorites against the Gujarat Giants. The Giants will hope to have more support from their defenders against Pardeep Narwal and Surender Gill.