Bengal Warriors eyes winning momentum against Patna Pirates

Day 10 of vivo Pro Kabaddi League Season 8 will see bottom-placed team Puneri Paltan take on Tamil Thalaivas. Puneri Paltan, despite showing glimpses of brilliance through their all-rounder Aslam Inamdar, have struggled to gather points with “showman” Rahul Chaudhari not getting the expected points. The match will be followed by Patna Pirates’ encounter against defending champions Bengal Warriors who suffered a humiliating loss against Dabang Delhi K.C. on Wednesday.

Tamil Thalaivas have been involved in two ties this season (in three matches). Coach J Udaya Kumar will now need to figure a way to ensure they convert these tight games into victories. In Manjeet and Bhavani Rajput they have two lanky raiders who have impressed in patches. But Thaliavas’ habit of losing momentum towards the closing stages of the match has seen them concede cheap points.

Captain Surjeet Singh will need to marshal his defence well against Puneri Paltan’s raiding trio of Aslam Inamdar, Mohit Goyat and Pankaj Mohite. The three youngsters have been the backbone of coach Anup Kumar’s plans with Rahul Chaudhari not being given the full 40 minutes on the mat. With one win in three matches, Puneri Paltan are at the bottom of the vivo PKL season 8 points table.

Meanwhile, Defending champions Bengal Warriors will be looking to bounce back after a humiliating 52-35 defeat against Season 7 finalists Dabang Delhi K.C. on Wednesday. The Warriors struggled against Delhi raider Naveen Kumar and that could force a few changes in the starting line-up against Patna Pirates.

Their defender Sachin Vittala had a particularly bad day on the mat with poorly time tackles while the ever-reliable Mohammad Esmaeil Nabibakhsh could only fetch 3 bonus points. The only positive was the performances of raiders Maninder Singh and Sukesh Hegde who picked up 25 points in total.

Patna have two wins in three matches have looked unfazed by Pardeep Narwal’s move to U.P. Yoddha in the auctions. Their raiding unit of Monu Goyat, captain Prashant Kumar Rai, and Sachin should pose a tough challenge for Bengal defence. In defence, the duo of Sajin C and Mohammadreza Chiyaneh has looked in great form for the three-time champions.

Both matches will be played at The Sheraton Grand, Whitefield Bengaluru – the fixed venue for Season 8 of vivo PKL.

Tune in details (31-12-2021)

7:30 PM: Tamil Thalaivas vs Puneri Paltan

8:30 PM: Patna Pirates vs Bengal Warriors

All matches can be watched on Star Sports Network and Disney+ Hotstar