Dabang Delhi will look to register their first victory of Star Sports Pro Kabaddi League (PKL) Season 4, when they take on the mighty Puneri Paltan. Dabang Delhi lost 23-31 in their opening match of the season against the Bengal Warriors, and having lost by more than 7 points, the Dabang’s failed to get a point. Puneri Paltan have won 2 out of their first 3 matches of the season, and will look to make it 3 out of 4 against the side from Delhi. The Paltan lost their last match against defending champions, Patna Pirates 24-30, and will look to bounce back from their defeat.
Table toppers, Puneri Paltan, have showed intent to improve on their third-place finish in Pro Kabaddi Season 3. They were forced to change their home base due to technical issues, from Balewadi Sports Complex to NSCI, Worli, which also happens to be U Mumba’s home venue.
The Pune-based franchise opened their season against a strong Telugu Titans side, and came back from behind to win the match 28-24. Heroics of their captain and Season 2’s Most Valuable Player, Manjeet Chhillar, won them the match with his powerful defensive tackles against the likes of Rahul Chaudhari and the pacey Vinoth Kumar.
The Paltan won their second match against U Mumba, in the Maharashtra derby, 41-19. The full-capacity stadium at NSCI cheered on for both the teams, as the side registered their first-ever victory against the Mumbai outfit. Puneri Paltan failed to make it 3 wins in a row, as they lost their third match of the season against a clinical Patna Pirates side.
The Pune-based franchise’s management has done an incredible job in assembling a near perfect side, covering every position on the mat, making them the team to beat in this tournament. Manjeet Chhillar will be the most important player on the mat for the Paltan, and will look to repeat last season’s performance where he racked up a mammoth 101 points. Pune will also benefit from their acquisition of raider Sonu Narwal, the tallest player in this season’s Pro Kabbadi. Narwal has been very effective so far with his diving hand touches. Along with the likes of Ajay Thakur and Nitin Tomar, the Paltans will trouble Delhi’s defense.
Dabang Delhi will have to come up with a brilliant performance, if they are to win this match. The Delhi franchise has failed to make an impact in any season of Pro Kabbadi, finishing 6th in their first season, 7th in the second season and at the bottom of the table in season 3. They have just registered 10 victories in the three seasons of Pro Kabaddi. However, the Dabang’s will look to put behind their disappointing performances in the past, and finish in the top 4 this time around.
Delhi managed to buy some important players from this years’ auction, and would be happy with the squad they’ve put on for this season. Deepak Narwal can prove to be a good buy with his raiding capabilities, and the likes of Prashant Chavan and D. Suresh Kumar will add value to the squad with loads of experience. Meraj Sheykh, who was instrumental in Telugu Titan’s success last season, will look to do the same for his new side.
After a disappointing performance against the Bengal Warriors in their opening match, Delhi will be hoping to turn things around against the Paltan. However, they will have their work cut out against the Paltan, but will be counting on Kashiling Adake to guide them to a win. Adake has been Delhi’s lone bright spot in the last three seasons, scoring 300 raid points in 39 matches.
Puneri Paltan vs Dabang Delhi will be a key battle for both these sides, as the Paltan look to consolidate at the top of the table, while Delhi would be hoping to climb out of the bottom.
Match Predictions
Dabang Delhi will be dependant on Kashiling Adake to put on a strong performance in a tough encounter against the Paltan, at their home ground. Adake has been the standout player for Delhi in the previous three seasons, and will have added responsibility this season, as the captain of Dabang Delhi.
Talented young raider Selvamani K and former Patna Pirates man, Deepak Narwal, will have a hard time scoring raid points against a strong Paltans’ defence. Iranian all-rounder Meyraj Sheykh can prove to be the X-factor for the Dabangs. Defenders Prashant Chavan and D Gopu will have to bring their experience into play and stop the likes of Ajay Thakur and Sonu Narwal.
Puneri Paltan will rely on their lion-hearted captain Manjeet Chhillar, who is effective both defensively and offensively. Chhillar was arguably the best player on the mat last season, with 56 tackle points and 45 raid points.
Raiders Ajay Thakur and former Asian games Gold medalist, Sonu Narwal, will be key men for the Paltan. Deepak Niwas Hooda, one of the players to be retained by the franchise, after scoring 62 raid points last season, would be keen to put in a good performance.
Patna Pirates are clearly the stronger team on paper and will be expected to register another win, consolidating their position at the top of the table.
Squads
Puneri Paltan
Defenders: Ketut Ariana, Gurpreet Singh, Somvir Shekhar, Ravinder Pahal, Joginder Narwal, Khomsan Thongkham, Virender Chhillar;
All-rounders: Parmod Narwal, Preetam Chhillar, Manjeet Chhillar, Dalbir, Deepak Niwas Hooda;
Raiders: Ajay Thakur, Sonu Narwal, Jay Bahadur Bohara, Anil Shriram Nimbolkar, Akshay Jadhav.
Dabang Delhi
Raiders: Kashilink Adake, Selvamani K, Deepak Narwal, Sanju, Prashant Rai, Umesh Mhatre, Vikash Khandola.
Defenders: Prashant Chavan, D. Suresh Kumar, D Gopu, Ram Kumar Sah, Sachin Shingade, Anil Kumar, Hadi Tajik, Sanket Chavan.
All-Rounders: Bhupender SIngh, Meraj Sheykh, Phoonchoo Tin, Manjeet.
Puneri Paltan vs Dabang Delhi Live Match Information
Date: 28/06/2016
Time: 20:00 IST
Venue: NSCI SVP Stadium, Mumbai.
TV Channels: Star Sports 2/Star Sports 2 HD (English), Star Sports 3/Star Sports 3 HD (Hindi)
Live stream: http://www.starsports.com
