Pro Kabaddi returns to Mumbai today, as U Mumba take on the Puneri Paltan, in Match 43 of Season 4. The match will take place at the DOME@NSCL SVP Stadium- home ground of both the teams in today’s match. The match had an electric atmosphere when the teams faced off the last time around and it will be no different this time with fans of both teams expected to fill out the stadium
U Mumba is currently 5th and are knocking on the door of the Top 4. Mumbai is just 3 points adrift of today’s opponent in 4th place, with a game in hand. The match promises to be a cracker with both teams eyeing a semis spot.
U Mumba performance so far
U Mumba was crushed 34-24 in their last match against Patna Pirates. That was Mumbai’s fourth loss against the defending champions in their 5 previous matches. Mumbai missed out on a golden opportunity to go one above Patna, as they trailed Patna by 4 points before the match. Rajesh Mondal completely outwitted the Mumbai defence, as his counterpart, Anup Kumar, failed to meet the challenge.
The Mumbai defence was very disappointing, as they made some useless tackles and didn’t give themselves a chance to comeback. Anup Kumar, Rishank Devadiga, and Suresu Kumar had no answer to the Patna defense, as they stood strong in front of Delhi’s talented trio.
Former Indian captain, Rakesh Kumar, is one of India’s finest ever kabaddi players and put up a splendid display in their match against former champs, Jaipur Pink Panthers. His clever raids and perfectly-timed tackles will be vital for Mumbai against their derby rivals.
A lot was expected of Anup Kumar coming into Season 4, but he has been disappointing so far. His raids have been predictable, and opposition defenders haven’t had any troubles against the 32-year old raider. Rishank Devadiga is in bad form, and it’s high time for the duo along with Suresu Kumar, to put up a strong performance.
Barring the last match, Mumbai’s defensive trio of Dharmraj Cheralathan, Bajirao Hodage, and Iranian, Fazel Atrachali, has been pretty solid, and they will need to hold strong against the very strong Paltan attack.
Puneri Paltan performance so far
The Puneri Paltan started off Season 4 on a high but has failed to win a match in their last 3 attempts. Paltan lost their last match against Jaipur Pink Panthers in a hard-fought encounter, which ended 33-27.
Star raider, Ajay Thakur wasn’t given an inch of space, as Sonu Narwal failed to trouble the Jaipur defense, too. Jaipur’s sly tactic of taking their raid as soon as Pune scored a point didn’t give the Paltan time to get back in position, and that the Pune skipper. The Paltan fought hard but Jaipur’s solid defence held on to register very important 5 points.
Manjeet Chhillar will be hoping to make a mark in today’s match, and inspire the team to an all-important victory in the Maharashtra derby. Manjeet Chhillar started off Season 4 with some brilliant performance but has faded away a bit since. Chhillar has 25 tackle points to his name and is effective with his occasional raids. Pune will be banking on their captain to put a stellar performance.
Deepak Niwas Hooda has been Pune’s best raider, thus far. His agility and reflexes can trouble any opposition defense. Ajay Thakur has shown a lot of potential in previous seasons of Pro Kabaddi and if he can replicate some of that form, he will be a huge threat against Rakesh Kumar and co.
Manjeet’s defending partner, Ravinder Pahal has been brilliant in this season’s Pro Kabaddi League. Along with Chhillar, Pahal has made life very difficult for the opposition raiders and will have a huge role to play against the best attack of Season 4.
Match prediction
Today’s match has all the qualities of a thriller, as two of the best teams in Pro Kabaddi face off. The teams are filled with superstars in all departments, and this match can go a long way in deciding who will finish in the top 4.
More importantly, whoever wins the match will have the bragging rights over their neighbor. Mumbai dominates the head-to-head record at 6-1, but the Paltan defeated Mumbai by a huge margin of 41-19 when they met for the first time this season.
It’s hard to pick a winner for today’s match, but Mumbai might just come out with a win tonight.
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.
Puneri Paltan:
Defenders: Ketut Ariana, Gurpreet Singh, Somvir Shekhar, Ravinder Pahal, Joginder Narwal, Khomsan Thongkham, Virender Chhillar;
All-rounder: Parmod Narwal, Preetam Chhillar, Manjeet Chhillar, Dalbir, Deepak Niwas Hooda;
Raider: Ajay Thakur, Sonu Narwal, Jay Bahadur Bohara, Anil Shriram Nimbolkar, Akshay Jadhav.
U Mumba vs Puneri Paltan Live Match Information
Date: 20/07/2016
Time: 20:00 IST
Venue: DOME@NSCL SVP Stadium, Mumbai
TV Channel: Star Sports 2 (English), Star Sports 3 (Hindi)
Live Stream: http://www.starsports.com/
