Pro Kabaddi League 2019: Preview: Off form Jaipur Pink Panthers face confident UP Yoddha

Jaipur Pink Panthers look to stop their slump when they face UP Yoddha (Image Courtesy: Pro Kabaddi)

Pune, September 16: Jaipur Pink Panthers and UP Yoddha are set to battle in Pro Kabaddi League 2019 at the Shiv Chhatrapati Sports Complex in Pune on Monday (September 16).

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While Jaipur Pink Panthers look for first win after a run of six winless games, their opponents UP Yoddha will look to register their fifth win in a row, which will take them to fifth place.

After six wins in their first seven games, Jaipur have been able to claim just one win since then, recording six losses and one tie. And in their last match, they lost by a narrow margin to Patna Pirates. So, Jaipur, will look to regain their early season form to consolidate a play-off spot.

UP Yoddha, on the other hand, got their campaign off to a poor start, but have found form recently securing five wins in six and in their last encounter, they beat Gujarat Fortunegiants by a healthy scoreline. So, the Yoddhas will look to maintain their unbeaten run to go above Jaipur in the PKL table.

When it comes to head-to-head record, it is all even between the 2 teams with Jaipur Pink Panthers and U.P. Yoddha winning 2 matches each. Plus, in their reverse fixture, U.P. Yoddha beat Jaipur Pink Panthers 31 - 24. So, Jaipur will look to avenge that loss as well.

Jaipur depend on all-rounder Deepak Hooda

For Jaipur Pink Panthers, captain Deepak Niwas Hooda was the best raider as he finished with 9 raid points when the two sides met the last time. However, the dip in raiding performance has directly affected the team's success in the recent run in.

In the last 6 matches none of the raiders in the team have scored more than an average of 6. Deepak Hooda the lead raider in the team has a raid point average of 5.3 in the last 6 matches, while, Deepak Narwal and Nilesh Salunke have not made much impact in the past few matches. So, Jaipur will hope Deepak receives enough help from the support raiders starting from tonight.

Sandeep Dhull – Jaipur's grappler

In defence, they have had a consistent performance in terms of average tackle points scored. But in the last 6 matches the main area of concern has been the amount of raid points the team has conceded and also the average failed tackles made. So, Jaipur will hope the top defender Sandeep Dhull gets back to form along with the likes of Elavarasan, Amit Hooda and Pavan TR.

Srikanth Jadhav – Raider in form

UP Yoddha, meanwhile, were helped by the raiders when they outscored Jaipur 18 - 14 in raid points earlier in the season with Surender Gill and Shrikant Jadhav scoring 7 raid points each.

Jadhav has been the biggest influence in the raiding unit in the past 4 matches for Yoddhas as he has done the bulk of the scoring. He has contributed to 59% of the team's raid points in the last 4 matches. Gill has been a helping hand in the raiding setup as he has scored 17 raid points in the last 4 matches.

Nitesh and Sumit – Rock solid

Nitesh Kumar and Sumit have been the key defenders who have led the team to victory in the past 4 matches. In the last 4 matches, the duo have scored at an average above 3.5 tackle points per match.

While, Nitesh Kumar has had a tremendous Tackle SR of 89, Sumit has had a Tackle SR of 56. So, Yoddhas will hope the pair along side the likes of Amit and Ashu Singh keep Deepak Niwas Hooda off the mat.

Game starts at 7.30 PM IST

Live Channel: Star Sports 2 and Star Sports 2HD

Live Stream: HotStar