Pro Kabaddi League 2018, Match 55: Telugu Titans vs Bengal Warriors | Match Preview and Predicted Lineups
The Telugu Titans will take on the Bengal Warriors in a Zone B clash on Friday. The Telugu Titans come off a thrilling 26-26 tie against U.P Yoddha and are placed third in the Zone B table with 24 points from 4 games. The Bengal Warriors too come off a thrilling 30-30 tie against U.P Yoddha but are placed fifth in the points table with 22 points from 7 games.
It would be fair to say that the Titans' raiding unit has not delivered up to expectations and it's been their defense which has shined more. The Titans' raiding unit led by Rahul Chaudhari managed to score just 13 points last match and Rahul has not had the best of starts to the season. He has managed a respectable but not incredible tally of points and has scored 57 points from 7 games. Mohsen Maghsoudlou and Nilesh Salunke have managed to score 25 and 33 points respectively.
The Titans' defense have been excellent, led by captain Vishal Bharadwaj in the left corner and Abozar Mighani in the right corner. Vishal has been exemplary so far and has scored 26 points from 6 games at an average of 4.34 points per match, and right corner Abozar Mighani has 25 points from 6 games at an average of 4.18 points per match, which is staggering. Farhan in the right cover has scored 12 points from 7 games and Anil Kumar in the left corner has 16 points from 7 games.
Maninder Singh returned last game after an injury and was Bengal's best player by some margin against U.P Yoddha as he scored 14 points in the match. He has scored 63 points from 6 games and has been their best raider.
Mahesh Goud had a bad outing against UP scoring just 1 point while Jang Kun Lee scored 4 points. The Korean has scored 36 points from 7 games and will look to score better in the upcoming matches.
Shrikanth Tewatia in the right corner had the highest tackle points against UP as he scored 3 points and has 14 points from 6 games. Ran Singh, in the left corner was missing in the left corner last match owing to an injury and will hopefully be back for this match. Captain and right cover Surjeet Singh had a bad outing scoring just 1 point and has amassed 21 points from 7 games.
Both the teams will be looking for a win which will get them into second place behind UP Yoddha or Bengaluru Bulls. The Titans' iron strong defense will be looking to pin the Bengal raiders down and let Rahul and co. finish the job. The Warriors will hope that the other raiders will support Maninder in getting raid points off the Titans and crush them while defending.
Predicted Lineups: Telugu Titans- Vishal Bhardwaj(C), Abozar Mighani, Rahul Chaudhari, Mohsen Maghsoudlou, Nilesh Salunke, Anil Kumar, Farhan Milaghardhan
Bengal Warriors- PO Surjeet Singh(C), Maninder Singh, Shrikanth Tewatia, Adarsh T/ Ran Singh, Jang Kun Lee, Rakesh Narwal, Vijin Thangadurai
When and where to watch: 9th November at 9:00 pm IST on Star Sports 2. Also available on Hotstar.