The Jaipur leg of Pro Kabaddi 2016 Season 4 has come to an end yesterday with some exciting thrills and nail-biting finishes. Now, the kabaddi action shifts to Gachibowli indoor stadium, in Hyderabad the home of Telegu Titans, where Bengal Warriors take on U Mumba on Sunday.
The Anup Kumar led U Mumba struggles to repeat the past dominance in the current edition of pro kabaddi as they sit in third Place with 11 points. They were involved in close battles against Patna and Delhi after being thrashed by the Puneri Paltans last week. Although, the new Mumbai set-up never looks close to their previous stature but the experienced Anup Kumar and Rakesh Kumar brings a lot of value to the team. U Mumba faces the Bengal Warriors with a lot of confidence after their victory against Dabang Delhi in the last minute of the game.
Nilesh Shinde’s Bengal Warriors never looked comfortable in the nerve wrecking moments of the game in season 4 as they sit in 7th place with 2 wins and one loss. They look convincing in the early periods of the game but the finishing touch in the final moments is clearly lacking for season 3 semi-finalist.
Match Prediction
U Mumba’s driving force Anup Kumar saved the team from defeat, with a cool and composed ride against Dabang Delhi in the final minute of the game. The Mumbai skipper was impressive along with the do-or-die specialist Rishank Devadiga against Delhi and look to continue their good run. Both men face a strong test from the Bengal defence led by Nilesh Shinde on the right corner.
The former Indian captain Rakesh Kumar and Sunil Kumar never looks settled in the corner areas of U Mumba’s defence. The team tussles to repeat the past supremacy they had in the defence. U Mumba’s defence need to come handy against the dangerous Nitin Madane who had a super ten in raids against the Pink Panthers.
The attacking force of Bengal Warriors should target U Mumba’s lacklustre defence in order to come out successful. The raiding force of Nitin Madane, Monu Goyat and Ravi Dalal plays an important part in today’s battle. There is no official word on Jan Kun Lee’s availability after the Korean suffered a Shoulder problem against Delhi. It’s interesting to see whether the Warriors pick the former Bengaluru captain Surjeet Narwal who was warming the bench in the last three matches.
Bengal’s best signing of the season Vishal Mane has completely lost his touch and looks uninspiring in the new colours. Mane faces an uphill battle against his old team-mates Anup Kumar and Rishank Devadiga.
Bengal’s performance in season 4 was really convincing but they couldn’t grab the attention in the final moments of the game. They need to sort out the issues and come good against U Mumba on Sunday.
The worst thing for the Bengal Warriors heading into today’s encounter is, they haven’t defeated U Mumba in any of the past three seasons. They look to rewrite the script the at the Gachibowli indoor stadium, in Hyderabad.
The defence of both teams looks vulnerable and therefore it’s difficult, to say the least, but Mumbai's experience and Past record over Bengal holds the cutting edge.
Bengal Warriors vs U Mumba squads
U Mumba:
Defenders: Jeeva Kumar, Vikas Kale, Sunil Kumar, Manoj Dhull, Surjeet
All-rounder: Rakesh Kumar, Sourav V
Raider: Gurvinder Singh, Mohammed Aruduzzaman Munshi, Suresu Kumar, Surendra Singh, Mohammed Zakir Hussain, Tuhin Tarafder, Anup Kumar, Rishank Devadiga, Nitin Kumar, Vikash Kumar.
Bengal Warriors
Defenders: Nilesh Shinde, Girish Ernak, Amit Singh Chhillar, Vishal Mane, Chaminda R.S.M, C.Arun, Ravi Kumar, Sushil Vijay Bhosle
All-rounders: Suyog Rajapkar, Yogesh Subhash Sawant
Raiders: Simon Kibura, Jang Kun Lee, Nitin Mandane, Surjeet Narwal, Ravi Dalal, Shrikant Jadhav, Mahendra Ganesh Rajput, Ravindra Ramesh Kumavat
Bengal Warriors vs U Mumba Live Match Information
Date: 03/07/2016
Time: 21:00 IST
Venue: Gachibowli indoor stadium, Hyderabad.
TV Channel: Star Sports 2 (English), Star Sports 3 (Hindi)
Live Stream: starsports.com
