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In Match No. 43 of the Pro Kabaddi League Season 5, the homes side, UP Yoddha will lock horns against the Southern force, Tamil Thalaivas at the Babu Banarasi Das Indoor Stadium in Lucknow.
Both teams are coming into this match on the back of a loss from their previous clash, while UP Yoddha has lost four consecutive games on the trot in their home leg, the Tamil Thalaivas were defeated by Dabang Delhi by a narrow margin of just one point back in Ahmedabad.
LIVE COMMENTARY: UP Yoddha vs Tamil Thalaivas, 23 August 2017
The UP Yoddha have had a pretty much dismal run in their home leg in Lucknow, losing 4 successive games and hence will be on the hunt for a desperate win in tonight's clash. A rather disappointing approach was evident in the team's strategy wherein they were asked to play on the third raid and even settle the match for a tie somehow in the last match against Bengal rather than gunning for a win.
This has probably slowed down the momentum of otherwise rampant raiders Nitin Tomar and Rishank Devadiga and the overall side which boasts of a strong attack with other players like Mahesh Goud, Surender Singh, Rajesh Narwal in the pipeline to go in and raid. The bright spark in the defence has been young gun Sagar Krishna who has executed key tackles replete with precision and timing to stop the best of the raiders in their tracks.
Other than that, players like Jeeva and Hadi Tajik surely need to buckle up and put up a strong show on the mat.
Tamil Thalaivas, on the other hand, will also rely on their leader Ajay Thakur to power them across to the finish line, after the tall and lanky raider returned to form with a 14-point outing against Dabang Delhi in the last match. He is assisted in the attack by the likes of K Prapanjan and D Pradap who will look to play a greater role in the raid department.
As for the defence, it is spearheaded by the stalwart Amit Hooda who has been quite decent with his performance but needs more support from others in the likes of Darshan, C Arun and Vineet Kumar.
UP Yoddha vs Tamil Thalaivas match prediction
The Tamil Thalaivas can take advantage of the recent poor form of the Yoddha and especially succeed if they manage to keep their lead raiders, Rishank and Nitin Tomar out of the equation. The mantle of keeping the scoreboard ticking will then fall on Ajay and if performance in the last match is anything to go by, he will leave the UP defence hapless.
