PKL 2019 Preview: Pune hope to sign off home leg with win

Bengaluru, September 20: Puneri Paltan face defending champions Bengaluru Bulls in match number 99 of the Pro Kabaddi League (PKL) Season 7 on Friday (September 20).

The match to be held at Pune's Shree Shiv Chhatrapati Sports Complex will begin at 8.30 pm IST. The match will be aired live on Star Sports with live streaming on Hotstar.

The hosts are eighth in the PKL points table with 37 points from 17 games while the champions are fourth with 49 and have played a game less.

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While Puneri Paltan will be hoping to close the gap on the top six with a win, Bengaluru Bulls will be keen to get into the top three.

Head-to-head Bengaluru Bulls have a slight edge (5-4) over Puneri Paltan, but that should be immaterial as yet another cracker of a contest is in the offing.

Hunt for wins

Despite winning four of their last six matches, Bengaluru Bulls find themselves just six points clear of seventh-placed Jaipur Pink Panthers and thus are in the hunt for victories to improve play-off chances.

Reigning MVP Pawan Kumar Sehrawat has been at his brilliant best throughout the campaign and has already surpassed 200 raid points for the season.

Torrid run

After victory in the opening fixture of their home leg, Puneri Paltan have endured a torrid run since, losing to Patna Pirates by 22 points before blowing a seven-point lead in under two minutes against Tamil Thalaivas to settle for a tie.

They find themselves 11 points adrift the play-offs spots with five matches left.

Must-win game

Hence, it is a much-win game for them against Bengaluru Bulls to bolster their chances of finishing inside the top six.

Raiders Manjeet, Pankaj Mohite and Nitin Tomar have all scored a Super 10 each in their first three home matches and coach Anup Kumar will be hoping that his raiding trio can continue their stellar form.