PKL5 Match 116 preview: Jaipur Pink Panthers v Puneri Paltan

Date: 8th October
Time: 9PM IST (4:30PM BST)
Venue: Sawai Mansingh Stadium, Jaipur
Zone: A

Form

The second game of the night is a zone A match between home side Jaipur Pink Panthers and Puneri Paltan. Pune are chasing down top spot whereas Jaipur are trying to chase down 3rd place to secure a playoff place, a loss for either would be the end of their challenge.

Jaipur Pink Panthers: WLLWL
Puneri Paltan: LWWWW
(last 5 games most recent first, W = won, D = draw, L = lost)

Match Prediction

Jaipur Pink Panthers beat U Mumba thanks to good game management and tactics. Jasvir was particularly cunning and pushing the boundaries on what is acceptable in terms of sledging and aggressiveness. Nonetheless they still have an outside chance of finishing in the playoffs and every game is crucial. They come up against a good Pune side but with Manjeet and Jasvir they have every chance.

Pune lost to Bengal Warriors in a very low scoring match and Bengal managed the game well, Puneri Paltan will face a similar game against Jaipur and they will have to learn from their mistakes in the last match. Pune still have their home leg to go, but we know it is very hard for the home team to do well in all their home matches since they play 6 games in a very short time. So it is crucial that they pick up a win here if they want to get the top spot.

It is going to be interesting to see if Manjeet plays in the cover position or the corner position, if he plays in the cover position he will be up against Deepak Niwas Hooda and that will be a great battle. We know Sandeep Narwal can make mistakes and if Jasvir is playing he will do his best to capitalize on this. I think Pune will do better than U Mumba and may just edge the win.

Prediction: Jaipur Pink Panthers 30-32 Puneri Paltan

Players to watch

  • For Jaipur Pink Panthers Pawan Kumar has been raiding fantastically well scoring 102 raid points in just 16 matches.
  • In defence watch out for Manjeet Chhillar, if he plays he can tackle anyone and can well win the game with his defensive duties only, he has 42 tackle points in just 12 matches.
  • For Puneri Paltan Deepak Niwas Hooda is their best raider scoring 102 raid points in 15 matches.
  • In defence the two corners Sandeep Narwal and Girish Ernak have been fantastic scoring 43 and 39 tackle points respectively this season.

Team News and Predicted Line-ups

Jasvir Singh completed his return from injury to take his place alongside Pawan Kumar and Tushar Patil as the 3 raiders. The defenders were Manjeet, Somvir, Nitin and Sidharth and I don’t really see this changing to be honest because they did very well against a very good Gujarat side. One of the raiders could give way to Selvamani if he returns but this is unlikely, also Sunil Siddhgavali could replace Somvir Shekhar but Jaipur will probably go with experience over youth.

Puneri Paltan will probably be unchanged despite their loss to Bengal Warriors, previous to this they had won five games in a row and so that team is well capable of winning.

Jaipur Pink Panthers: Nitin Rawal, Tushar Patil, Manjeet Chhillar (C), Pawan Kumar, Somvir Shekhar, Sidharth, Selvamani K.

Puneri Paltan: Ravi Kumar, Deepak Niwas Hooda (C), Sandeep Narwal, Girish Ernak, Monu, Ziaur Rahman (✈️), Rajesh Mondal.

Dream11 Fantasy Picks

This new section is just my picks for the Dream11 fantasy game, if a player doesn’t do well then don’t hold me accountable because it is just an opinion! If you haven’t already check out my Dream11 Fantasy Kabaddi Tips first before reading below.

  • Definite players to pick for this match are probably all rounder Manjeet Chhillar and Deepak Niwas Hooda.
  • In defence I’d suggest picking at least one of either Girish Ernak or Nitin Rawal.
  • For the differential players you might want to consider Tushar Patil, Sandeep Narwal or Jasvir Singh.
  • Tushar Patil has gone off the boil in the last two games but is well capable of scoring a lot of touch points, Sandeep Narwal can raid and defend making him a key asset for the team and gives great fantasy potential. Jasvir Singh is unplayable on his day and scored 9 points in his last game.
  • I’d suggest going for 3 raiders 2 all rounders and 2 defenders.

Money is an issue since buying both Deepak Niwas Hooda and Manjeet Chhillar puts you on the back foot in terms of credit. In my team I have Deepak and Manjeet as my all rounders, Monu, Pawan and Jasvir as my 3 raiders and Nitin Rawal and Ziaur Rahman in defence. My captain is Deepak Niwas Hooda and my vice captain is Pawan Kumar.

Alternatively you can swap Pawan Kumar with Rajesh Mondal and then upgrade Ziaur Rahman to Girish Ernak. You can also consider straight swapping Manjeet Chhillar with Sandeep Narwal especially if you think Jaipur will struggle in defence. In any case Deepak Niwas Hooda will be my captain.

SPKabaddi’s seven: Deepak Niwas Hooda (C), Pawan Kumar (VC), Monu, Nitin Rawal, Jasvir Singh, Ziaur Rahman, Manjeet Chhillar.