Chennai: Puneri Paltan pulled off an impressive victory in the first match of VIVO Pro Kabaddi
League at the Jawaharlal Nehru Indoor Stadium in Chennai on Wednesday, beating defending
champions Bengaluru Bulls 31-23. Only 16 points separated the top and the bottom teams in the points table going into the match, and Pune’s victory, thanks to an incredible performance from their defence, showed how close the competition is, in what is turning out to be a very competitive season. A heavily bandaged Surjeet Singh in the centre was the leader (6 tackle points) in the defensive unit for Puneri Paltan, giving no room for the league’s best raider, Pawan Sehrawat, to weave his magic.

Read More: Pro Kabaddi League 2019 Points Table

Sagar Krishna came in for the struggling Girish Ernak as coach Anup Kumar made the changes to a faltering Pune side while the Bengaluru Bulls went in with an extra defender in the line-up buoyed by the performances of their two raiders in Pawan Sehrawat and Rohit Kumar. It was Paltan who had an impressive start, consistently tackling Bengaluru Bulls’ raiders, with Sagar Krishna justifying his inclusion with an incredible body block on Rohit Kumar six minutes into the match. The defensive units matched each other tackle for tackle, as the raiders, including Pune’s Nitin Tomar struggled to impress. A low-scoring, heavy tackling, first half, which also saw Pawan Sehrawat reach 100 points for the season, ended with scores even at 10-10. Bengaluru’s decision to play just two raiders backfired as Paltan’s improved defence thwarted any raider who ventured into their territory. Pune, coached by the ‘Bonus ka Badshah’ Anup Kumar, also ensured Rohit Kumar and Pawan Sehrawat did not get their bonus points easily.

Read More: Pro Kabaddi League 2019 schedule

The team inflicted the game's only All-Out on Bengaluru Bulls in the sixth minute of the second half to open up an 8-point gap. Manjeet’s clever raids in Do-Or-Die situations were also vital for Pune as they raced to a two-digit lead. The defence held firm, as Surjeet Singh completed a personal milestone of 250 points in Pro Kabaddi League, and secured a very important victory that pushed up to 10th in the league standings. Bengaluru’s loss meant they lost out on an opportunity to go on top of the table.

Nitin Tomar not firing on all cylinders

CAN GO to the top of the table

Pawan Kumar Sehrawat in form

TUNE IN Details (22/08/2019):
7:30 PM: Bengal Warriors v Patna Pirates
Catch all the LIVE action exclusively on Star Sports Network and Hotstar

Chennai: Jaipur Pink Panthers showcased once again why they are the team to beat in VIVO Pro
Kabaddi League Season 7 table as they thwarted a spirited performance from the local side Tamil
Thalaivas to win the match 28-26 and open up a 7-point lead on top of the table. The match had been billed as the battle between Youth and Experience after Pink Panthers’ coach Srinivas Reddy called experienced the lineup of Thalaivas “Old Horses” nearing their retirement in the pre match press conference and there was no shortage of action right from the first whistle. A fully charged Thalaivas started the match on the front foot, with captain Ajay Thakur not holding himself back for the latter stages, and sharing raiding duties with Rahul Chaudhary.

Read More: Pro Kabaddi League 2019 Points Table

Jaipur’sPro Kabaddi League 2019 Points Table well- balanced young side were in no mood to cave in though, with the likes of Nitin Rawal and Nilesh Salunke impressing for the season one champions. The home team reduced the number of Pink Panthers on the mat to two with just over four minutes remaining till half-time though, but an empty raid by Rahul Chaudhary, largely due to defensive nous of the Pink Panthers, saved the table- toppers from an All-Out as the half ended 13-1 in favour of the Jaipur team. The Pink Panthers evaded the All-Out for another four minutes in the second half until Rahul Chaudhary finished it with a two-point raid taking out Pavan TR and Deepak Hooda and levelling the points. E Bhasakaran’s Thalaivas had a clear gameplan of targeting the Jaipur corners, which produced off-colour performances from Sandeep Dhull and Amit Hooda on the night.

Read More: Pro Kabaddi League 2019 schedule

Jaipur captain Deepak Niwas Hooda also had an unusually quiet game but the team from Jaipur remained in the game through some clever substitutions, Super Tackles and Nilesh Salunke’s hoarding of bonus points. With three minutes remaining in the match, a clever review by the Pink Panthers helped them open up a 4 point lead in the match. From thereon, the Pink Panthers managed time artfully, to hold on to a slender lead. In the end, Thaliavas’ intensity was not enough to see them through as the Jaipur side once again proved how well they work together as a unit.

HEAD-TO-HEAD (OVERALL)

Overall: Matches – 15 | Bengal Warriors – 3 | Patna Pirates – 9 | Tie – 3

• Bengal Warriors have been able to win just 3 of their 15 matches against Patna Pirates.
• Patna have won 9 times while 3 of their meetings have ended in a tie.
• 2 of these ties came in season 5.
• In PKL 6 Patna Pirates won 2 of their 3 matches during the season, but Bengal Warriors won their last meeting 39-23
  • Maninder Singh had a SUPER 10 for Bengal (11 raid points)
  • Ran Singh and Surjeet Singh both had 4 tackle points
  • Pardeep Narwal was restricted to just 7 raid points
• Bengal Warriors PKL 7 Record
  • 4 Wins, 2 Losses, 2 Ties
  • Last Match: Tied with Dabang Delhi 30 – 30
• Patna Pirates PKL 7 Record
  • 3 Wins, 5 Losses, 0 Ties
  • Last Match: Lost to U Mumba 30 – 34

Head-to-head (Since PKL 5)

PROBABLE 7

UPCOMING MILESTONES

• Maninder Singh (KOL) is 16 raid points away from 600 raid points in PKL

Chennai: U.P. Yoddha picked up an important 31-24 victory against league leaders Jaipur Pink Panthers in the second match of VIVO Pro Kabaddi League at a packed Jawaharlal Nehru Indoor Stadium in Chennai on Monday.

Yoddha’s win, on match number 50 of Season 7, halted Panthers’ winning run and showed that the league is far from over for even the bottom-placed teams. Shrikant Jadhav (7 points) and surprise-inclusion in the team, Surender Gill (8 points), were the stars for Yoddha as they climbed to 8th in the league standings.

The match started with a surprisingly poor defence by both sides, with no successful tackles till the 11th minute, despite having the league’s best tacklers in Sandeep Dhull and Sumit on the mat. But the game changed after the first tackle, with both teams, especially the Panthers producing impressive Super Tackles to stay neck-to-neck. Shrikant Jadhav’s improved form reduced the Jaipur men and the U.P. team secured their first All-Out with two minutes remaining – a two-point raid by Surender Gill taking out both Amit Hooda and Sandeep Dhull. Yoddha ended the half with a six-point lead (17-11).

The key to Jaipur Pink Panthers’ successful start to the season had been the time spent by Deepak Niwas Hooda on the mat. U.P. Yoddha had identified this as an important area to target in the first half, with the captain spending a lot of time in the dugout. The second half started brightly for the all-rounder though, picking up a three-point Super Raid to start the proceedings. But he picked up an injury in the process, something U.P. Yoddha, heavily marshalled by captain Rishank Devadiga, went on to capitalise. Devadiga, Shrikant Yadav and Surender Gill combined as a raiding unit for the team as they opened a 9-point lead with nine minutes remaining. Deepak Hooda battled what looked like a troubled knee to keep his Jaipur side in the contest but the Yoddha defence held firm to register their third victory of the season.

TUNE IN Details (21/08/2019):

7:30 PM: Puneri Paltan v Bengaluru Bulls

8:30 PM: Tamil Thalaivas v Jaipur Pink Panthers

Catch all the LIVE action exclusively on Star Sports Network and Hotstar

Read More: Pro Kabaddi League 2019 schedule

Today’s Match Awards:

• VIVO PERFECT RAIDER OF THE MATCH
  • Vikash Khandola (JERSEY NO. 88) – Haryana Steelers
  • Deepak Hooda (JERSEY NO. 5) – Jaipur Pink Panthers

• TATA MOTORS ACE DEFENDER OF THE MATCH
  • Fazel Atrachali (JERSEY NO. 1) – U Mumba
  • Sumit (JERSEY NO.9 ) – Jaipur Pink Panthers

• DREAM11 GAME CHANGER OF THE MATCH
  • Selvamani K (JERSEY NO. 10) – Haryana Steelers
  • Surinder Gill (JERSEY NO. 11) – Jaipur Pink Panthers

• MOMENT OF THE MATCH
  • Sunil (JERSEY NO.5) – Haryana Steelers
  • Shrikant Jadhav (JERSEY NO.22 ) – Jaipur Pink Panthers

Points Table: (For More: Pro Kabaddi League 2019 Points Table)

Chennai: Star raider Vikas Kandola was once again the star for Haryana Steelers as they picked up an important 30-27 victory against a struggling U Mumba side in the first VIVO Pro Kabaddi League match at the Jawaharlal Nehru Indoor Stadium in Chennai on Monday. The closely fought contest saw the Mumbai side match the Steelers till the very end but Kandola’s nine-point game and some uncharacteristic errors from the U Mumba defence finally led to a Haryana victory.

Read More: Pro Kabaddi League 2019 Points Table

Both sides went into the match with identical records (four wins and four losses in eight matches) but Haryana Steelers started on the aggressive, with coach Rakesh Kumar recognising the lack of raiding quality in U Mumba’s ranks. The defence kept a high line, strangling U Mumba’s opportunities to pick up Bonus Points, thereby forcing them to mistakes, while Vikas Kandola picked up the points with his raids in the other end. His three-point Super Raid, 12 minutes into the match, set the tone for the Haryana side who inflicted an All-Out on U Mumba with three minutes remaining to half time.

Read More: Pro Kabaddi League 2019 schedule

The second half started with the scores at 16-8 but raider Abhishek Singh’s introduction by U Mumba changed the dynamics of the match. His raid points and U Mumba’s resolute defence reduced the gap to just two points 10 minutes into the half. Consecutive Super Tackles by Ravi Kumar and Chand Singh, along with a few errors in the Mumbai defence quickly widened the gap to 25-17 in favour of Haryana with seven minutes to final whistles though. Sandeep Narwal’s raid for Mumbai with 6 minutes left on the clock, taking out Dharmaraj Cheralathan and Chand Singh, tilted the balance of the match once again and the subsequent all-out meant the gap was reduced to one point with less than three minutes remaining. But the surge came too late for Mumbai as they succumbed to another defeat.

TUNE IN Details (21/08/2019):

7:30 PM: Puneri Paltan v Bengaluru Bulls

8:30 PM: Tamil Thalaivas v Jaipur Pink Panthers

Catch all the LIVE action exclusively on Star Sports Network and Hotstar

Chennai: Siddharth Desai was the star for Telugu Titans as he proved ‘form is temporary, and class is permanent’ with a Super 10 to help his team secure a 40-29 win against Haryana Steelers in a crucial VIVO Pro Kabaddi League encounter at Chennai’s Jawaharlal Nehru Indoor Stadium on Sunday.

Siddharth’s 18 points, including his second Super 10 of the season, was too much to contain for the Haryana Steelers who’s three-match winning run came to a halt in their first match of the Chennai-leg.

Read  More: Pro Kabaddi League 2019 Points Table

Telugu Titans went into the match with just one win in eight matches, but the lack of confidence was certainly not evident from the outset as the Desai brothers of Siddharth and Suraj took the game to the Steelers. In-form Vikash Kandola, on the back of a hat-trick of Super 10s, was in no mood to let the Titans run away with the match though as he kept pace with the South Indian team. The most crucial point of the first half came with 8 minutes remaining when Siddarth Desai combined well with his team to tackle Vikash Kandola.

Vishal Bhardwaj, playing his 50th match in PKL, brought about the first all-out in the match, assisting Abozar Mighani to tackle Naveen with four minutes remaining to half time. Steelers’ recent resurgence in form had been largely due to Vikash Kandola’s ability to perform in Do-or-Die (team success ratio of 60%) and Super-Tackle situations (personal SR of 88%), but the Telugu Titans had a well-prepared plan for the quick raider, tackling him out once more before the half ended at 21-13 in favour of the Titans.

Read More: Pro Kabaddi League 2019 schedule

The second half ended up just like the first, with Telugu’s defence not allowing Vikash Kandola to settle into the game. They inflicted the second all-out on Haryana with 11 minutes remaining till the end with Siddharth Desai leading the Telugu attack. Kandola’s super raid with two minutes left in the clock led to a near-collapse for the Titans but the side held on to their nerves to escape an all-out and clinch the match. Siddharth’s return to form will be the highlight for the Titans who now look a well-balanced unit.

On their win, Siddharth ‘Baahubali’ Desai said during the post-match press conference s, “Telugu Titans as a team is happy to emerge as winner today. We are looking forward to take this confidence and spirit in all our future matches.”

TUNE IN Details (19/08/2019):

7:30 PM: U Mumba vs Haryana Steelers

8:30 PM: UP Yoddha vs Jaipur Punk Panthers

HEAD-TO-HEAD (OVERALL)

Overall: Matches – 6 | Tamil Thalaivas – 1| Bengaluru Bulls – 5

• Bengaluru Bulls have dominated this H2H winning 5 of the 6 matches.
• Bengaluru’s win% of 83 against Tamil Thalaivas is their best against an opposition in PKL.
• Bengaluru Bulls are currently on a 4-match winning streak against Tamil Thalaivas. All those wins have been by a margin of more than 7 points.
• In their last encounter in PKL 6, Bengaluru Bulls comfortably beat Tamil Thalaivas 36-22.
• It was a clinical performance by the Bulls as they outscored Tamil Thalaivas in both raid (18-13) and defence (13-9).
• Rohit Kumar was brilliant and registered a SUPER 10 (10 raid pts) while Mahender Singh scored 4 tackle points at an impressive tackle SR of 80.
• Tamil Thalaivas PKL 7 Record
  • 3 Wins, 2 Losses, 1 Tie
  • Last Match: Beat Gujarat Fortunegiants 34 – 28.
• Bengaluru Bulls PKL 7 Record
  • 4 Wins, 3 Losses, 0 Tie
  • Last Match: Lost to U.P Yoddha 35 – 33.

Head-to-head

PROBABLE 7

UPCOMING MILESTONES

• This would be Manjeet Chhillar’s 100^th match in PKL.
• Mahender Singh (BLR) needs 8 tackle points to reach 150 tackle points in PKL.

CONTEST STORY

BEST RAID UNIT LOCK HORNS AGAINST THE BEST DEFENCE UNIT

It doesn’t get any better than this: The best raid unit (BLR) will lock horns against the best defence (CHE). Will Bengaluru extend their 4-match winning streak against Thalaivas or will the team from Chennai change the fortunes?

• No other team has averaged better than Bengaluru in terms of raid points (20) in PKL 7.
• No other team has a better tackle SR than Tamil Thalaivas (56) in PKL 7.

• No raider has accumulated as many raid points as Pawan ‘Hi-Flyer’ Sehrawat (87) in PKL 7. Manjeet Chhillar, with 26 tackle points has the 2^nd most tackle points by a defender in PKL 7.

PAWAN ‘THE HIGH-FLYER’ SEHRAWAT – A CLASS APART FROM OTHER RAIDERS

• Continuing his form from last season, Pawan Sehrawat has looked unstoppable in PKL 7 also.
• Pawan Sehrawat averages 12.4 raid points per game, the most by a raider in PKL 7.
• He has a raid SR of 70, hands down the best among raiders with 50+ raids this season.

• A major takeaway for Bengaluru in the last few matches is that their raid unit’s dependency on Pawan Sehrawat has reduced to an extent

In the first 4 matches, Pawan Sehrawat contributed nearly 3/4^th of Bengaluru’s total raid points (71%).

• • However, in the last 3 matches it has been a 50-50 contribution by Pawan and the other raiders for Bengaluru.

  • D-o-D SITUATION: A PHASE WHICH WOULD DECIDE THE OUTCOME OF THIS CLASH

    • Bengaluru Bulls raiders have been aggressive in their raid strategy – They don’t primarily wait to pounce in the D-o-D raid.
    • This is evident as Bengaluru Bulls raid unit have gone for just 4 D-o-D raids on an average this season, while the rest of the teams have gone for 6 D-o-D raids.
    • Having said that, against good defence units capitalizing the opportunities in D-o-D raids decides the outcome of the match more often than not.
    • A cause of concern is that Bengaluru Bulls raid unit have a raid SR of just 41 in D-o-D raids, the 2^nd worst for a team in PKL 7. Also, the Thalaivas defence with a tackle SR of 71 has been one of the best in D-o-D situation this season. Can Pawan Sehrawat and his boys break the deadlock and win this crucial battle to edge past the Thalaivas defence?

    Performance in D-o-D raids – PKL 7				Performance in D-o-D situation – PKL 7
    Team	Raid SR			Team	Tackle SR
    Telugu Titans	33			Tamil Thalaivas	71
    Bengaluru Bulls	41			Gujarat Fortunegiants	71
    U.P. Yoddha	48			U Mumba	68

     

    THALAIVAS’ DEFENCE – KEY TO STAGE COMEBACKS

    • Tamil Thalaivas possess one of the most experienced line up of defenders with 3 of them having played 90-plus PKL matches. Also, they are the only team which has 3 defenders with 200-plus tackle points in PKL. This mixture of experience and skillset makes them a dangerous side and has the potential to stage a comeback at any phase of the game.
    • Tamil Thalaivas, after losing 2 games in their first 3 matches came back well and have not lost a game since then.
    • In two of the last 3 matches, Tamil Thalaivas were trailing at half time by 5 points or more. The defence, who were bad in the first half staged a comeback and helped Tamil Thalaivas to avoid a defeat.
    • In the last 3 matches, Tamil Thalaivas defence have 65% of tackles as failed tackles in the first half and have scored just 3.7 tackle points on an average.
    • In the second half, their performance has literally doubled. They have scored 7.3 tackle points on an average with a tackle SR of 65.

    Tamil Thalaivas – Performance in the Last 3 Mts					Tamil Thalaivas Defence – Last 3 Mts
    Opposition	Half Time Score	Final Score			1st Half	Vs.	2nd Half
    Vs. HAR	HAR lead 19-10	CHE won 35-28			3.7	Avg. Tackle Pts	7.3
    Vs. U.P	U.P lead 16-11	Match Tied 28-28			65%	Failed Tackle%	35%
    Vs. GUJ	CHE lead 15-10	CHE won 34-28			35	Tackle SR	65

  • Especially, in the last 10 minutes the Thalaivas defence has been unstoppable. Thalaivas have a failed tackle % of 39 and tackle SR of 68 in the last 10 minutes, the best among teams in PKL 7.
  • All their key defenders Manjeet Chhillar, Mohit Chhillar and Ran Singh have a tackle SR above 65 in the last 10 mins.

• PLAYER HEAD-TO-HEAD

  (All figures overall PKL; figure in brackets shows PKL 6)

  • Rohit Kumar (BLR) 7 – 8 Manjeet Chhillar (CHE) [3-0 in PKL 6]
  • Rohit Kumar (BLR) 4 – 5 Mohit Chhillar (CHE) [1-1 in PKL 6]
  • Rohit Kumar (BLR) 10 – 10 Ran Singh (CHE) [3-2 in PKL 6]
  • Pawan Sehrawat (BLR) 3 – 4 Ran Singh (CHE) [2-4 in PKL 6]
  • Pawan Sehrawat (BLR) 5 – 2 Manjeet Chhillar (CHE) [4-1 in PKL 6]
  • Pawan Sehrawat (BLR) 4 – 3 Mohit Chhillar (CHE) [3-1 in PKL 6]
  • Rahul Chaudhari (CHE) 3 – 5 Amit Sheoran (PUN) [All in PKL 6]
  • Rahul Chaudhari (CHE) 6 – 6 Mahender Singh (BLR) [4-3 in PKL 6]
  • Ajay Thakur (CHE) 3 – 6 Mahender Singh (BLR) [1-2 in PKL 6]
  • Ajay Thakur (CHE) 16 – 9 Ashish Sangwan (BLR) [7-6 in PKL 6]

  TEAM STORIES: TAMIL THALAIVAS

  ‘SHOWMAN’ RAHUL EXPERIENCING A SLIGHT DIP IN PERFORMANCE

  • Rahul Chaudhari had a great start in the first 4 matches averaging 8.5 raid points per match with a 50-plus raid SR.
  • However, in the last 2 matches his returns have halved: Just 4 raid points on an average with a raid SR of just 31.

  Rahul Chaudhari – Raid Performance in PKL 7
  First 4 Mts	Vs.	Last 2 Mts
  8.5	Avg. Raid Pts	4.0
  22%	Failed Raid%	35%
  52	Raid SR	31

   

  IMPROVED SHOW OF ‘ICEMAN’ AJAY AND SHABEER BAPPU GIVES THALAIVAS THE RIGHT BALANCE IN THE RAID UNIT

  • While Rahul Chaudhari has not been in his prime in the last 2 matches, Ajay Thakur and Shabeer Bappu have stepped up to the occasion.
  • Ajay Thakur who averaged 4 raid points per game in the first 4 matches has averaged 6 raid points per game in the last 2 matches.
  • Tamil Thalaivas, in the initial matches replaced Shabeer Bappu with Ajith Kumar in the second half owing to his inability to score raid points. However, in the last 2 matches he has done his role to perfection (3.5 Avg raid pts and 5% failed raids) and has never been substituted since then.

Read More: Pro Kabaddi League 2019 schedule

TEAM STATS – TAMIL THALAIVAS

Read More: Pro Kabaddi League 2019 Points Table

TEAM STORIES: BENGALURU BULLS

ARE BULLS DEFENCE TOO RELIANT ON SUPER TACKLES?

• Bengaluru Bulls have been one-dimensional in their defence approach so far: Relying heavily on super tackle situation.
• 38% of Bengaluru Bulls tackle points have come in super tackle situation, the most for a team.

• When super tackle is out of contention, Bengaluru’s defence has been the worst. They have a tackle SR of 35, the worst among teams in PKL 7.

*4 or more defenders in play

UNSETTLED AND AN INCONSISTENT DEFENCE UNIT

• Bengaluru have tried as many as 8 defenders, by far the most defenders used by a team this season.
• Even in the last game, they didn’t start with the in-form Amit Sheoran and went with Aman. Amit Sheoran came in as a sub and created an immediate impact in the game.

*Specialist defenders are only considered

• Bengaluru Bulls defenders have been peaking only in certain phases of the game and it has mostly been the first quarter and the last quarter.
• 3/4^th of Bengaluru’s tackles have been unsuccessful in the second and third quarter. A dip in these two crucial phases puts an additional pressure on the raid unit.

TEAM STATS – BENGALURU BULLS