Pro Kabaddi League Season 5: Five player battles to watch out for in the Kolkata leg
Following the conclusion of the Mumbai leg, season five of the Pro Kabaddi League now moves to Kolkata. Hosts Bengal Warriors will look to get their season back on track riding on the back of their home advantage, as they play six matches in the next week.
The previous leg saw U Mumba win only two of their five matches, while one other match was abandoned. Bengal desperately need to win as many matches as they can to get back in the reckoning and climb up the table.
The Kolkata leg will begin with teams facing off against others from their respective zones before the second half of the leg ends with the third Inter-zonal week.
Here are five player battles from the upcoming leg that will be the most entertaining to watch:
#1 Jang Kun Lee (Bengal Warriors) vs Vishal Mane (Patna Pirates)
The home side will play the opening encounter of the Kolkata leg against the Patna Pirates and will be looking to their explosive foreign import, Jang Kun Lee, to provide the bulk of the scoring.
The Korean raider has been a crucial part of the Warriors' squad since the beginning of PKL and has been impressively consistent in Season 5 as well, scoring 43 points in eight matches.
He, however, will have to watch his step against the Pirates' Vishal Mane, who is an extremely competent defender, who is not afraid to use his physicality against his opponents.
Mane, who plays at right cover, has so far scored 18 points in seven matches and has been an integral component of the Patna defence. He will need to be at his best to ensure Lee does not continue his scoring run.