Bengal Warriors battle Tamil Thalaivas with sights on third spot in Zone B

Panchkula plays host as Bengal Warriors take on Tamil Thalaivas at the Tau Devilal Sports Complex on Friday. Bengal Warriors sit seven points away from third-placed Telugu Titans in Zone B and will look to close the gap on them with victory over Tamil Thalaivas.

The two sides met in Chennai this season, as Bengal Warriors ran away winners by nine points with Maninder Singh and Ran Singh starring for the side.

Match 112 (Zone B): Bengal Warriors vs Tamil Thalaivas

Head-to-head: Bengal Warriors 3-1 Tamil Thalaivas

Form Guide

Bengal Warriors	RESULT (W-T-L)	POINTS SCORED	POINTS CONCEDED
Vs. U Mumba	LOST	20	31
Vs. Haryana Steelers	LOST	33	35
Vs. Bengaluru Bulls	WON	44	37
Vs. Bengaluru Bulls	WON	33	31
Vs. Puneri Paltan	WON	26	22
TOTAL	3-0-2	156	156

Stats from the last five matches

Average Points Scored – 31.2

Average Points Conceded – 31.2

Best Raider – Maninder Singh

Best Defender – Ran Singh

Tamil Thalaivas	RESULT(W-T-L)	POINTS SCORED	POINTS CONCEDED
Vs. Jaipur Pink Panthers	LOST	24	37
Vs. Dabang Delhi K.C.	LOST	33	37
Vs. Patna Pirates	TIED	35	35
Vs. Telugu Titans	WON	31	25
Vs. Bengaluru Bulls	LOST	22	36
TOTAL	1-1-3	145	170

Stats from the last five matches –

Average Points Scored – 29.0

Average Points Conceded – 34.0

Best Raider – Ajay Thakur

Best Defender – Manjeet Chhillar

The big battle

Maninder Singh vs Ajay Thakur

The fixture pits two of the league’s best raiders, Maninder Singh and Ajay Thakur against each other, as Singh tries to elevate Bengal Warriors into the top three of their zone, while Thakur tries to lift Tamil Thalaivas from the bottom of the zone.

Singh has been brilliant in offence for Bengal Warriors for the second season running. Having returned with 134 raid points in 14 games, Singh sits tenth amongst the league’s best raiders. Singh averages 9.57 raid points per match, the fourth highest in the league. Singh however, has averaged more than a Super 10 in the last five games, managing to score 53 raid points at an average of 10.60 and a strike rate of 58.24, the best in the team .

Thakur is only 44 raid points away from recording his best ever season and has four games to achieve it. He has already managed to score 170 raid points in 18 matches, the fourth best in the league, at an average of 9.44 raid points per game, sitting just below Singh in this category.

Both Singh and Thakur will be expected to do the bulk of the scoring in this fixture and the player that surpasses the other will be key in likely leading his team to victory.

Key Khiladi

Ran Singh – Bengal Warriors

Ran Singh has been Bengal Warriors’ leading defender over the past five games, with nine tackle points. Singh has also shown that he can raid well, having managed 22 raid points over the course of the season. His all-round abilities allow the team flexibility and he will be looking to put in another strong performance.

Manjeet Chhillar – Tamil Thalaivas

Manjeet Chhillar is the league’s third-most successful all-rounder this season, having returned with 66 points from 18 games. Chhillar has already surpassed his tackle points tally from last season and sits fifth in the league with 58 tackle points. Chhillar will be keen to add to his tally as he goes up against a marauding Maninder Singh-led Bengal Warriors offence.