Pro Kabaddi 2018- Match 45, Jaipur Pink Panthers vs Gujarat Fortune Giants| Match Preview and Predicted Lineups
The Jaipur Pink Panthers will take on the Gujarat Fortune Giants in a Zone A clash in the second match on the first day of the UP Yoddha home leg. Jaipur will be playing after a 6-day break following a loss to Bengal Warriors. They are currently placed at the bottom of the Zone A table. The Gujarat Fortune Giants play after a 3-day gap following a win against Puneri Paltan. They are placed third in the Zone A table.
The Jaipur Pink Panthers side which boasted of the biggest names in the entire league have been poor so far. With only 1 win in 5 matches, Anup Kumar and co. need to get their campaign up and running once again. Deepak Niwas Hooda has been their best raider so far scoring 33 points from 5 matches. Anup Kumar comes in second place with 25 points. The amount of raid points scored is not enough and the side has to score more raid points and give chances to the younger raiders like Ajinkya and Selvamani.
Defensively, the corners of Jaipur have been good so far. Mohit Chillar in the right corner has scored 13 points and Sandeep Dhull in the left corner has scored 14 points. The other players though have hardly turned up. Bajirao Hoadage has been a disappointment, so has Young Chang Ko. Sunil Siddhgavali was given a chance to play the right cover and he blanked that game. The Jaipur defenders need to bring their A- game in order to beat Gujarat.
Gujarat's raiding has primarily been centred around Sachin. The youngster has been brilliant this season as well scoring 49 points in 5 matches and will look to continue with his spree. Prapanjan and Mahendra Rajput have made appearances from the bench and scored a few crucial points for the team. Prapanjan has 18 points while Mahendra Rajput has 12 points.
Gujarat opted for a young defence this season and their defence is led by the young right cover and captain Sunil Kumar, who has been brilliant. Sunil Kumar has 14 points from 5 matches and the left cover Parvesh Bhainswal has 15 points. Ruturaj Koravi in the right corner has been brilliant scoring 16 points. Sachin Vittala has settled into the left corner scoring 6 points from 3 games. They will look to continue with their dominant performance against the Panthers.
Both the teams will be looking to win this game. Gujarat will be breathing down U Mumba's neck if they win this game and Jaipur desperately need a win to shine some light on their so far dull campaign. Jaipur's raiding and defencive unit have to sharpen up and put in more effort and play with more intensity. Gujarat will look to capitalize on Jaipur's defensive fragility in the cover positions and pick off easy points and then play on their strong defence.
Predicted Lineups: Jaipur Pink Panthers- Anup Kumar(C), Deepak Niwas Hooda, Mohit Chillar, Amit Kumar, Sandeep Dhull, Amit Singh, Ajinkya Pawar
Gujarat Fortune Giants- Sunil Kumar(C), Parvesh Bhainswal, Sachin, Prapanjan, Ruturaj Koravi, Sachin Vittala, Ajay Kumar
When and where to watch: November 2nd at 9:00 pm IST on Star Sports 2
Also available on Hot Star