Bengal Warriors seek first home win of the season against Puneri Paltan

After ties in their last outings, both Bengal Warriors and Puneri Paltan will be eager to get a win under their belt when they square off at the Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose Indoor Stadium in Kolkata on Saturday. Bengal Warriors’ first home leg encounter against Gujarat Fortunegiants saw them come from behind to claim a tie, however, they will be eager to secure a first win in front of their fans. Puneri Paltan, meanwhile, were involved in a thrilling Maharashtra derby tie in their last game, making a win against Bengal Warriors a must to keep their dwindling playoff hopes alive.  

Match 81: Bengal Warriors vs Puneri Paltan

ead-to-head: Bengal Warriors 6 – 6 Puneri Paltan. 1 Tie.

Bengal Warriors

Form guide:

Played: 13

Won: 6

Tied: 3

Lost: 4

Win rate: 46.15%

Best Raider: Maninder Singh

Best Defender: Rinku Narwal

Bengal Warriors will want to get their first win at home as soon as possible after a tie in their first game last night. They will be hoping for an improved showing from all their players after failing to play to their full potential in the last match. Maninder Singh, K. Prapanjan and Mohammad Nabibakhsh combined to score just 14 raid points last night. They will be keen to deliver a much more productive outing against Puneri Paltan and need to fire collectively. Nabibakhsh, in particular, will be aiming to offer more in attack having struggled to supply enough support to Maninder and Prapanjan recently. The Iranian will have a role to play on both ends of the mat and will want to contribute while raiding to ease the pressure of his team’s main raiders. In defence, Jeeva Kumar will be entrusted to organise, while the likes of Baldev Singh and Rinku Narwal will want to stamp their authority on the game early on with their aggressiveness.

Puneri Paltan 

Form guide:

Played: 13

Won: 4

Tied: 2

Lost: 7

Win rate: 30.77%

Best Raider: Manjeet

Best Defender: Surjeet Singh

After a gripping tie in the Maharashtra derby last time around, Puneri Paltan will be eyeing maximum points against Bengal Warriors. Having struggled with inconsistent form all season, coach Anup Kumar will be hoping that his side finally find some form and can string together a few positive results heading into the business end of the campaign. Still in contention for a playoff spot, Puneri Paltan will need both their defence and attack to work in unison to beat Bengal Warriors. Manjeet has been their in-form player this year and is their top raid points scorer, while also consistently contributing tackle points, including a joint game-high four tackle points in the previous match. He can expect support from Pankaj Mohite, who’s a smart raider capable of delivering in crunch situations. Nitin Tomar is another game-changer within their ranks, however, whether he features having picked up a knock remains to be seen. In defence, coach Anup will want skipper Surjeet Singh to use his experience and guide his teammates in a much better manner than he did in the dying moments of the Maharashtra derby.