Pro Kabaddi League 2018, Match 118: Jaipur Pink Panthers vs Haryana Steelers | Match Preview and Predicted Lineups
The home side, Jaipur Pink Panthers take on the Haryana Steelers in a Zone A clash of PKL 2018 at the Tau Devi Lal Sports Complex in Panchkula tomorrow, Tuesday at 9 pm IST. Since both teams are out of contention for the playoffs they would be fighting for pride in this match.
Both the teams have faced defeats in their latest encounters and against the same opposition, Gujarat Fortune Giants. While the Pink Panthers lost 29-34 in Match 116, the Steelers lost 37-47 in Match 108 due to their continued defensive failures.
The Pink Panthers have two key issues to resolve before tomorrow's game - the selection of a third raider to support Deepak and Ajinkya, and the lack of patience and coordination in their defence.
While their defence hasn't done too bad in the tournament, they needed to be consistent, being in a team which lacks a strong raiding unit to shoulder the bulk of the responsibility of scoring points.
The Steelers, on the other hand, have the weakest defence in the tournament if average tackle points are considered as the parameter. They have a measly average of 8.8 tackle points per match and need to improve it considerably to make sure that they do not end up at the bottom of the Zone A standings.
Jaipur Pink Panthers and Haryana Steelers, have faced each other on a couple of occasions in the season so far, and the Pink Panthers have emerged on the winning side on both of them, with scorelines of 36-33 in Match 18 and 38-32 in Match 50.
Key Battles to keep an eye on
#1 Monu Goyat (right raider) vs Sandeep Dhull (left corner)
#2 Deepak Niwas Hooda (left raider) vs Sunil (right corner)
Probable playing 7
Jaipur Pink Panthers: Deepak Niwas Hooda (c), Ajinkya Pawar, Anand Patil, Sunil Siddhgavali, Amit Kumar, Sandeep Dhull, and Santhapanaselvam
Haryana Steelers: Monu Goyat (c), Vikas Kandola, Naveen, Mayur Shivtarkar, Sachin Shingade, Sunil, and Kuldeep Singh
When and where to watch: 21:00 IST on the Star Sports network and on digital streaming platform Hotstar.
Catch the latest updates of the Pro Kabaddi Points Table here at Sportskeeda.