A confident Telugu Titans side will be taking on an in-form Puneri Paltan in a mouth-watering clash in match 34 of PKL Season 4 2016 in Sree Kanteerava Stadium, Bengaluru.
The Telugu Titans are high on confidence after winning their last 3 games in succession with some inspiring performances from their defence and their captain Rahul Chaudhari, who has been wonderful as a raider this season as well. Nilesh Salunke has played second fiddle to his captain and has ably supported him. Sandeep Dhull would be looking forward to use his defensive prowess to help the Titans win their fourth match in succession.
Puneri Paltan will try their best to emerge victorious in this match which would see them top the table and give a major boost to their hopes of qualifying for the semi-finals this season. Captain Manjeet Chhillar will have to be on point to stop his opposite number Rahul Chaudhari from going on a rampage during his raids. He will be supported by his wingman Ravinder Pahal in the defence. Deepak Niwas Hooda will have to make sure his raid attempts are successful in order to score crucial points for his side in the match.
Telugu Titans performance so far
The Telugu Titans have had an inconsistent season so far, to say the least. They lost their first three games of the season but have won the last three matches that they have played against U Mumba, Dabang Delhi and Bengaluru Bulls respectively.
They have played 8 games with a success rate of 50%, having won 4 of their matches and losing four. They lie fourth on the table with 24 points. A win against Pune will help them better their chances to qualify for the semi-finals.
The team looks very dangerous at the moment and their captain Rahul Chaudhari is one fire as the side have dominated teams like Mumbai, Delhi and Bengaluru in their last 3 games. They defeated U Mumba 35-30 at home and have seen a consistent run of victories ever since.
They comprehensively outclassed Dabang Delhi in both departments of the game in their 28-23 win over Delhi at Patliputra Sports Complex, Patna. They had a great game in their last match by defeating Bengaluru Bulls in their home, with the final score reading 32-24 in their favour at the end of the match.
Rahul Chaudhari is having another great season for the Titans, and the star raider has led by example and has been the main reason for their recent success in the tournament. He stands third in the list of top raiders with 46 raid points to his name. Rahul had scored 9 points in the last match against Mumbai, which shows the incredible form he is in. Nilesh Salunke has used his experience to help his team out when needed and has scored 25 raid points.
Sandeep Dhull and Vinod, the young guns in the Titans side have taken over the mantle of defence for their side. Their age-defying performances which have included a flurry of ankle holds and quick dashes on a consistent basis have made life difficult for the opposition to score raid points at will.
Sandeep has 22 successful tackles this season which gives him the 6th position in the list of top defenders, and Vinod has 19 successful tackles for the Titans. They will have a major role to play in the match and their main responsibility would be to stop Deepak Niwas Hooda from scoring important raid points for the Puneri Platan.
Puneri Paltan season so far
Puneri Paltan stand second in the table with 28 points. They have played 8 games, with 4 wins, 2 loses and 2 draws. The team from Pune has been one of the most successful teams this season, but their recent form is something to worry about for the team. A win against the Telugu Titans will strengthen their position on the table and give them more chances of qualifying for the semi-finals.
Their last match against the Bengal Warriors, who are languishing at the bottom of the table was a tie (34-34) which saw the team not playing up to their standard and having an off day on the court. They had a great show in the match against the Jaipur Pink Panthers which they won 33-28. However, they lost a nail-biter against the Bengaluru Bulls by just 2 points, with the final score being 29-27.
The win against the Bengal Warriors in their 7th match of the season saw them have a great day in the offence and defence, as they outclassed Warriors to emerge victorious in the match.
Deepak Niwas Hooda has been the most successful raider for the side, having scored 37 raid points to stand 4th in the list of top raiders. He has used his agility and reflexes to keep the opposition defenders guessing, and has scored raid points with ease.
His captain Manjeet Chhillar has shown his all-round skills and scored crucial raid points for the side when needed. Manjeet and Ravinder Pahal have made it very difficult for raiders to score points against Pune with some amazing display of their defensive skills which has helped them stop most raiders in their tracks and prevented them being successful in their raid attempts.
Match prediction
The clash between Telugu Titans and Puneri Paltans is going to be epic, and both sides will be vying to perform better in order to solidify their chances of playing in the semi-finals. A win for the Puneri Paltan will see them top the table, and Telugu Titan would improve their fourth place standing on the table with a win in the match.
Considering the recent form of the Titans, it will be quite a task for the team from Pune to win the match and outclass the Titans in offence and defence. The duel between Rahul Chaudhari and Manjeet Chhillar/Ravinder Pahal will be the one to watch out for. Manjeet will have to use all of his experience and power to stop Rahul from scoring raid points, and Rahul will have to use his supreme skills to score as many points as he can for his side.
Sandeep Dhull and Vinod will have to be on top of their game in order to stop Deepak Niwas Hooda from scoring points, and it would be great to see the youngsters take on an experienced campaigner of the game.
The match could go in favour of Telugu Titans, if they continue from where they left off in their last match and give a noteworthy performance together as a team. A win for the Puneri Paltan would see them top the table, and they will try their best to make it possible.
Squads
Telugu Titans
Raiders: Rahul Chaudhari (Captain), Sukesh Hegde, Nilesh Salunke, K Prapanjan, Athul MS, Vinoth Kumar.
Defenders: Vinod, Sandeep Dhull, Shashank Wankhede, Sombir, Akhlaq Hussain
All-Rounders: Sandeep Narwal, Jasmer Singh Gulia, Mohammad Maghsoudlou, Muhammad Rizwan, Rupesh Tomar, S Mahalingam, Sagar B Krishna, Vishal Bharadwaj.
Puneri Paltan
Raiders: Ajay Thakur, Sonu Narwal, Akshay Jadhav, Jay Bahadur Bohara, Khomsan Thongkham.
Defenders: Ravinder Pahal, Joginder Narwal, Somvir Shekhar, Gurpreet Singh, I Ketut Ariana, Ravinder Kumar, Virender Chhillar.
All-Rounders: Manjeet Chhillar (Captain), Deepak Niwas Hooda, Nitin Tomar, Parmod Narwal, Dalbir, Preetam Chhillar.
Telugu Titans vs Bengaluru Bulls Live Match Information
Date: 15/07/2016
Time: 20:00 IST
Venue: Sree Kanteerava Stadium, Bengaluru
TV Channels: Star Sports 2/Star Sports 2 HD (English), Star Sports 3/Star Sports 3 HD (Hindi)
Live stream: http://www.starsports.com
