The Bengaluru Bulls won its 8th match of the tournament when it beat the Tamil Thalaivas. It was a match that the side was expected to win quite easily and that is exactly what it did. The Bengaluru Bulls now have 8 wins and one tie from 12 matches to put them at the top spot in Zone B.
Pawan Kumar Sehrawat has been the tip of the raiding trident at the disposal of the Bengaluru Bulls. He is second in the standings of the raiding points scorer for the tournament and needs just 11 raid points to reach a total of 150 for this season of the PKL.
Considering the fact that he already has one 20 point performance this season, it is highly likely he will reach that tally. Of course, the Bengaluru Bulls will be in a very good position if Pawan Kumar Sehrawat is able to play with the consistency he has shown in Pro Kabaddi 6.
Rohit Kumar returned a Super-10 in the last match and continued his stellar PKL season as well. With Kashiling Adake as the backup raider, the Bengaluru Bulls have enough attacking options on the mat to be a nuisance to the other team at all times.
The Patna Pirates are also very strong in the raiding department and so the performance of Mahender Singh as the Bulls leading defender will be very critical too.
Stopping Pardeep Narwal, though, is not going to be easy. He has a season leading nine Super-10’s to his name, is scoring at an average of 11.25 points per game, and is third in terms of points scored for all the raiders in the PKL.
Pardeep Narwal will know that the Bengaluru Bulls defense is fallible, as was shown in the first match, and can be put under pressure. The contest between Pardeep Narwal and Pawan Kumar Sehrawat could well determine which side comes out victorious in this battle.
Like the Bengaluru Bulls, the Patna Pirates also have a couple of experienced defenders to bank upon. Jaideep, with 43 tackle points to his name, has been leading the defense for the Patna Pirates. Unfortunately for the current PKL champions, his performance alone has not been enough to make the Pirates a strong defensive team.
They will need to do a lot better if they are to stop the best attacking side of the PKL.
The Patna Pirates have been of the strongest teams over the history of the PKL. This is reflected in its awesome record against most sides. It also dominates the rivalry with the Bengaluru Bulls 9-3 with another match ending in a tie.
Recent form, though, suggests that the Patna Pirates will be the underdogs in this encounter.
The Bengaluru Bulls are playing back to back matches at home and that can be physically demanding. A team like the Bengaluru Bulls plays a very attacking style of play and this can be more draining than a defense-oriented side.
The Patna Pirates are also strong offensively and so this match should a fast paced high scoring one. We think the recent form of the Pirates makes them the team to back.
Back the Patna Pirates to win.