PKL5 Match 119 preview: Dabang Delhi v Bengaluru Bulls

Date: 11th October
Time: 8PM IST (3:30PM BST)
Venue: Sawai Mansingh Stadium, Jaipur
Zone: Interzone A v B

Form

The first game of the night is an interzonal match between Dabang Delhi and Bengaluru Bulls. Mathematically Bengaluru Bulls still have a chance of making the playoffs however realistically they don’t have a chance and this game becomes a dead rubber.

Dabang Delhi: WLLLL
Bengaluru Bulls: WLLLD
(last 5 games most recent first, W = won, D = draw, L = lost)

Match Prediction

Dabang Delhi picked up a great win against Jaipur Pink Panthers last night however apart from this they have probably had the worst season out of all 12 teams. They have never really got going and the defence has been a shambles all season. It is nice to see the coach give young players a chance to impress as well as giving enough time to the seniors as well.

Bengaluru Bulls have struggled both defensively and on the raid. Rohit Kumar has been fantastic for the Bulls on the raid however no one else really stepped up to support him with Ajay Kumar disappointing. The defence have been okay at times but a red card for Ravinder Pahal at a crucial point of the season didn’t help things either.

Dabang Delhi will be high on confidence after their latest win however I don’t see how they will be able to stop Rohit Kumar picking up a lot of raid points. That said they still have a chance against a weak Bulls’ defence. I think Bengaluru will edge this one.

Prediction: Dabang Delhi 30-35 Bengaluru Bulls

Players to watch

  • For Dabang Delhi Meraj Sheykh has been their best raider picking up 94 raid points in 20 matches.
  • For Bengaluru Bulls Rohit Kumar has been a fantastic raider all season and is on form right now, he has scored 156 raid points in 18 matches.
  • In defence Ravinder Pahal is a quality defender and he has 36 tackle points in 15 matches.

Team News and Predicted Line-ups

Dabang Delhi made a lot of changes in their last match with only Abolfazl, Meraj and Tushar retained from the match before. One can only expect more changes since they have nothing left to play for.

Bengaluru Bulls will probably be unchanged from their last match which saw them beat Tamil Thalaivas. Sachin Kumar may keep his place after scoring 5 tackle points.

Dabang Delhi: Nilesh Shinde, Abolfazl Maghsodlou (✈️), Tushar Bhoir, R. Sriram, Meraj Sheykh (✈️, C), Yatharth, Viraj Vishnu Landge.

Bengaluru Bulls: Ashish Kumar, Rohit Kumar (C), Harish Naik, Ravinder Pahal, Ajay Kumar, Mahender Singh, Sachin Kumar.

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 Rohit Kumar and Meraj Sheykh.
  • In defence I’d suggest picking at least one of either Ravinder Pahal or Mahender Singh.
  • For the differential players you might want to consider R. Sriram, Sachin Kumar, Ajay Kumar.
  • R. Sriram scored 7 points in his last match and may continue this form, Sachin Kumar scored 5 tackle points in his last match and may keep his place, and Ajay Kumar scored 6 touch points in the last game and on his day can get super 10s.
  • I’d suggest going for 3 raiders and 1 or 2 all rounders.

 

It’s very hard to pick a side since most players are at risk of squad rotation. However I have decided to go for Rohit Kumar, R. Sriram and Abolfazl as my 3 raiders, my all rounder is Meraj Sheykh and in defence I have Ravinder Pahal, Sachin Kumar and Viraj Vishnu Landge. My captain is Rohit Kumar and my vice captain is Meraj Sheykh.

Alternatively you can straight swap Abolfazl for Ajay Kumar.

SPKabaddi’s seven: Rohit Kumar (C), Meraj Sheykh (VC), Abolfazl Maghsodlou, R. Sriram, Viraj Vishnu Landge, Ravinder Pahal, Sachin Kumar.