Pro Kabaddi League 2019: Preview: Bengaluru Bulls host Tamil Thalaivas in Southern Derby

Bengaluru Bulls host Tamil Thalaivas (Image Courtesy: Pro Kabaddi)

Bengaluru, September 1: Bengaluru Bulls will look for first home win when they host Tamil Tahalaivas in a Southern Derby in the Pro Kabaddi League 2019 at the Sree Kanteerava Stadium in Bengaluru on Sunday (September 1).

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Victory for the home side could see them climb to third in the PKL 2019 standings, while a win for the visitors will see them cut the gap to three points on the top 6.

Bengaluru Bulls got off on the wrong foot in their home leg, after being beaten by Gujarat Fortunegiants by a margin of nine points. The defence, however, had an outstanding night, especially rookie Saurabh Nandal, who scored, a joint season-high, eight tackle points from just seven tackle attempts.

Leading tackle point scorer Mahender Singh too had a good outing and finished with four tackle points, taking his tally to 35 for the season, just seven behind league-leader Vishal Bhardwaj.

However, what will concern coach Randhir Singh Sehrawat will be the performance of his star raiders, 'Hi-Flyer' Pawan Kumar Sehrawat and skipper Rohit Kumar, who scored three raid points each on Saturday. Coach Randhir Singh Sehrawat will be expecting a strong response from his side, which could see them get their first win in Bengaluru in over three years.

After a three-match unbeaten run, Tamil Thalaivas have gone five games without a win and slipped to ninth in the Season 7 standings. The partnership of 'Iceman' Ajay Thakur and 'Showman' Rahul Chaudhari hasn't exactly panned out as Tamil Thalaivas would've hoped.

Thakur and Chaudhari are averaging 4.91 and 5.91 raid points, respectively and while the latter has managed two Super 10s so far, the Iceman has managed just one which came in their last match against Bengal Warriors.

Their defence, too, needs to step up having averaged just six tackle points in their three previous outings. Qualifying for the playoffs won't be easy, but a win in the Southern Derby against Bengaluru Bulls will be a step in the right direction.

Game starts at 8.30 PM IST

Live Channel: Star Sports 2 and Star Sports 2HD

Live Stream: HotStar

Source: Pro Kabaddi