Bengal Warriors battle U Mumba with sights on the top spot in their zone

Vizag will witness a thrilling encounter on Saturday when U Mumba take on Bengal Warriors on the penultimate day of the Inter-Zone Challenge Week at the Rajiv Gandhi Indoor Stadium. While U Mumba have already qualified for the Playoffs from Zone A, Bengal Warriors currently occupy the third spot in Zone B and a victory will boost their chances of qualifying for the Playoffs before they go into their home leg on December 21. They trail current Zone B leaders Bengaluru Bulls by 16 points with three additional games in hand which puts them in contention for the top spot in their zone.

The sides last met in Kolkata in Season 5 with U Mumba winning by a scoreline of 37-31. Maninder Singh was the star for Bengal Warriors, returning with a Super 10. Bengal Warriors will hope he can deliver a similar performance and help them reverse that result this time around.

Match 102 (Inter Zone Challenge Week): U Mumba vs Bengal Warriors

Head-to-head: U Mumba 9-1 Bengal Warriors

Form Guide:

U Mumba	RESULT(W-T-L)	POINTS SCORED	POINTS CONCEDED
Vs. Gujarat Fortunegiants	WON	36	26
Vs. Dabang Delhi K.C.	WON	41	34
Vs. Dabang Delhi K.C.	WON	39	23
Vs. Gujarat Fortunegiants	LOST	35	39
Vs. Tamil Thalaivas	WON	36	22
TOTAL	4-0-1	187	144

Stats from the last five matches –

Average Points Scored – 37.4

Average Points Conceded – 28.8

Best Raider – Siddharth Desai

Best Defender – Rohit Rana

Bengal Warriors	RESULT(W-T-L)	POINTS SCORED	POINTS CONCEDED
Vs. Haryana Steelers	LOST	33	35
Vs. Bengaluru Bulls	WON	44	37
Vs. Bengaluru Bulls	WON	33	31
Vs. Puneri Paltan	WON	26	22
Vs. Gujarat Fortunegiants	LOST	23	35
TOTAL	3-0-2	159	160

Stats from the last five matches –

Average Points Scored – 31.8

Average Points Conceded – 32

Best Raider – Maninder Singh

Best Defender – Ran Singh

The big battle

Siddharth Desai vs Maninder Singh

Siddharth Desai has enjoyed a stellar debut season that has seen him break multiple records while leading U Mumba’s offence. Having scored 178 raid points in 16 games, Desai has clocked the third-most number of raid points so far this season at an impressive average of 11.13. Desai also has the second-most number of Super 10s with 10 to his name, two fewer than reigning MVP Pardeep Narwal. He will aim for an 11^th Super 10 in his first outing against Bengal Warriors as U Mumba look to score their 10^th victory against them.

Bengal Warriors’ offence has been ably led by Maninder Singh for the second season in succession. Singh has been at his very best, averaging 9.92 raid points per game. He sits eighth amongst the season’s top raid-point-scorers with 129 in 13 games. Singh has also been in top form recently, having scored 54 raid points in his last 5 games. Against Bengaluru Bulls,he delivered one of the best performances of his career, scoring 17 raid points and helping his side beat the Zone B leaders for the second game running.

Key Khiladi -

Fazel Atrachali – U Mumba

Captain Fazel Atrachali is the joint-leading defender this season with 67 tackle points in 18 games and the joint-most High 5s to his name. Atrachali will be up against an in-form Bengal Warriors offence led by the mercurial Maninder Singh. However, he has managed 25 tackle points against them in his VIVO Pro Kabaddi career and will be gunning to add a few more to that tally.

Ran Singh – Bengal Warriors

Ran Singh has been Bengal Warriors’ leading defender over the past five games, managing ten tackle points in that period. Singh has also shown that he can raid well, having managed 20 raid points over the course of the season. His all-round abilities are key for the side as it allows them additional flexibility in the team combination.