Pro Kabaddi League 2018: Inter Zone Challenge Week - Match 28, Puneri Paltan vs Bengaluru Bulls| Match Preview| Probable lineups
The Puneri Paltan will take on the rampant Bengaluru Bulls on 21st October in the second match of the Inter Zone Challenge Week at the Pro Kabaddi League Season 6. The Puneri Paltan side will play their fourth game at home. They have had a good campaign so far, winning 2 games out of the 3 they have played, including a humdinger against U Mumba on Saturday.
The Bengaluru Bulls have simply been brilliant so far, winning 2 games out of 2 against the Tamil Thalaivas, which they have won by a large margin. They have looked brilliant both in defense and in raiding and have found a new superstar -- the young Pawan Shehrawat -- who has scored 32 points in 2 games, along with Kashi who has 20 points from 2 games.
Rohit Kumar has surprisingly been off colour, having put in just 4 raids in 2 games and hasn't scored a single point. The Bengaluru Bulls will hope that their captain will nurse his niggle and get back to full form and further strengthen their already strong raiding unit.
Defensively, Ashish Sangwan in the right corner has been brilliant with 10 points in 2 games and was supported well by left cover Mahender Singh, who has 6 points from 2 games. The other defenders have not been too good with Jasmer Singh scoring 3 points and none of the options for left corners have been impressive.
The Puneri Paltan have had a good campaign so far and their home leg has been great . They will look to win the match to retain their place at the top of the table. Nitin Tomar has continued to be impressive with 83 points from 7 games. Rajesh Mondal has been oscillating between bad and good form and has been highly inconsistent. With able raiders like More GB waiting on the bench, Rajesh has to be consistent if he wants to retain his place in his side.
Girish Ernak, the captain, has been brilliant this season. Ravi Kumar's emergence in the right cover has suddenly made the side a very strong defensive side with Akshay Jadhav and Rinku Narwal chipping in with valuable points. The absence of the experienced Sandeep Narwal will affect the Paltan and makes the right side a bit vulnerable.
Their defensive performance against U Mumba was a cause of concern. Without Sandeep Narwal, the right side of the defense was easy pickings for Siddharth Desai. Considering that they will be going up against a raiding powerhouse, Puneri Paltan need to correct their defensive errors and support their star players Nitin and Girish.
Both the sides will desperately be looking for a win and the Paltan will want to impress their home fans and the Bulls will try to make their way to the top of the table.
Probable lineups: Bengaluru Bulls- Rohit Kumar(C), Pawan Shehrawat, Kashiling Adake, Ashish Sangwan, Mahender Singh, Jasmer Singh, Jawahar Vivek
Puneri Paltan- Girish Ernak(C), Nitin Tomar, Deepak Kumar Dahiya, Ravi Kumar, Monu, More GB, Shubham Shinde
When and where to watch: October 21st at 9:00 pm IST on Star Sports 2