The Bengaluru Bulls were cruising through this season of the PKL before running into U Mumba and the Gujarat Fortunegiants. The Bulls lost against U Mumba and tied against Gujarat Fortunegiants in encounters that were physically demanding and tested the Bengaluru Bulls like previously not seen in Pro Kabaddi 6.
An emphatic victory against the Jaipur Pink Panthers would have helped the Bengaluru Bulls regain the confidence they had earlier in the season. Pawan Kumar Sehrawat and Mahender Singh have been brilliant for the Bengaluru Bulls.
While Mahender Singh leads the defense of the Bengaluru Bulls, Pawan Kumar Sehrawat leads a brilliant raiding unit that has been the most prolific scorer in this entire league.
Sehrawat has scored 124 raid points in the 10 matches he has played this season which equates to an average of 12.4 raid points per game. No other raider in the entire league has such a high average. Sehrawat excels at scoring points under pressure and is going to be the main attacker for the Bengaluru Bulls in this match.
Kashiling Adake scored an astonishing 5 point raid against the Jaipur Pink Panthers. As a raider, Adake takes a secondary role to Sehrawat and even Rohit but that should not detract from his ability. He is as important a cog in this Bengaluru Bulls offense as anyone else.
The Bengal Warriors will have their hands full trying to keep the Bulls raiders quiet but they have one of the best defenders in the league to try and help them do so. PO Surjeet Singh may have only 27 tackle points in his 11 matches but he is not someone to be looked over.
Surjeet Singh has excellent mat presence and co-ordinates the entire Bengal Warriors defense. He will be helped by the fact that Baldev Singh has roared into form and is the highest tackle point scorer for the Bengal Warriors in the last five games.
Beating the Bengaluru Bulls will require scoring a lot of points as well. This is where Maninder Singh comes in. Every time he scored a Super-10, the Bengal Warriors win. He is the kind of impact player that can overwhelm a strong Bengaluru Bulls defense.
If Maninder can target the key defenders and get them out of the game early then he may open up chances for the other players to capitalize as well.
The Bengaluru Bulls have scored more raid points, more tackle points, more total points, and more all-outs than the Bengal Warriors. The Bengaluru Bulls also hold a 7-4 advantage over the Bengal Warriors in head to head matches.
The Bengal Warriors, though, won the last match against the Bengaluru Bulls played in season 5 of the PKL.
The Bengaluru Bulls outclass the Bengal Warriors in terms of attack. The depth and quality of raiders they possess in their squad makes them a very hard team to stop. We think backing the home team in their first game of the home leg is prudent.
Back the Bengaluru Bulls to win.