Haryana Steelers have not been beaten in their past six matches while Tamil Thalaivas have gone nine matches without tasting victory.
A struggling Tamil Thalaivas take on a rampant Haryana Steelers’ in match 90 of Pro Kabaddi League (PKL) season at the Shree Shiv Chhatrapati Sports Complex in Pune.
Haryana Steelers have not been beaten in their past six matches while Tamil Thalaivas have gone nine matches without tasting victory. Haryana Steelers have been in exceptional form and will want to move closer to securing a semifinal spot with a win.
PKL 2019 Points Table (as of match 88)
| Team | Played | Won | Lost | Tied | NRR | Points |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Dabang Delhi | 14 | 11 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 59 |
| Bengal Warriors | 16 | 9 | 4 | 3 | 0 | 58 |
| Haryana Steelers | 14 | 9 | 4 | 1 | 0 | 49 |
| Bengaluru Bulls | 16 | 9 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 49 |
| U Mumba | 15 | 7 | 7 | 1 | 0 | 43 |
| Jaipur Pink Panthers | 15 | 7 | 7 | 1 | 0 | 42 |
| UP Yoddha | 14 | 7 | 5 | 2 | 0 | 42 |
| Gujarat Fortune Giants | 14 | 5 | 8 | 1 | 0 | 34 |
| Patna Pirates | 15 | 5 | 10 | 0 | 0 | 30 |
| Telugu Titans | 14 | 4 | 8 | 2 | 0 | 30 |
| Puneri Paltan | 14 | 4 | 8 | 2 | 0 | 29 |
| Tamil Thalaivas | 15 | 3 | 10 | 2 | 0 | 27 |
Tamil Thalaivas, meanwhile, have been looking for a reversal of fortunes since their previous nine matches and will want nothing more than to end that winless streak by beating the in-form Haryana Steelers. They have never been beaten by Haryana Steelers yet and would want to extend that record when the two teams clash.
In the four previous encounters, Tamil Thalaivas have won one with the remaining three ending in stalemate. Tamil Thalaivas currently sit on a seven-match losing sequence with their previous loss to Patna Pirates coming with a massive 26-point margin. Star raider Rahul Chaudhari is on the brink of having another 100 raid point season. Much will be expected from youngster V Ajith Kumar who shone against Patna Pirates with a Super 10.
Haryana Steelers Performance
| Team | Match1 | Match2 |
|---|---|---|
| Telugu Titans | 29 – 40 | – |
| Tamil Thalaivas | 28 – 35 | – |
| U Mumba | 30 – 27 | – |
| Bengal Warriors | 36 – 33 | – |
| Puneri Paltan | 34 – 24 | 41 – 27 |
| Patna Pirates | 35 – 26 | – |
| Bengaluru Bulls | 33 – 30 | – |
| UP Yoddha | 36 – 33 | – |
| Gujarat Fortunegiants | 41 – 25 | – |
| Dabang Delhi | 21 – 41 | 47 – 25 |
| Jaipur Pink Panthers | 21 – 37 | 32 – 32 |
Haryana Steelers put on a spirited performance in the final minute of their previous season seven encounter to walk away with a tie against Jaipur Pink Panthers. However, Saturday will give them a chance to push their advantage at the top of the standings further and move into the second spot with a win. Far from being overdependent on the raider, the team has other able options like Prashanth Kumar Rai, Vinay and Naveen in attack. In defence, the team had Ravi Kumar and Sunil finish with a High 5 each in their previous encounter. This shows the quality and variety skipper Dharmaraj Cheralathan has in defence which could make things very difficult for Tamil Thalaivas’ raiders.
This article was originally published on myKhel.com