Both - Puneri Paltan and Haryana Steelers - will be eager to continue with their winning momentum when they clash at the Sree Kanteerava Stadium in Bengaluru on Monday. Puneri Paltan will be buoyed by the result of their last outing in Delhi and they will be looking to string together some positive results for a strong finish in the second half of the league. Haryana Steelers, meanwhile, are currently one of the form teams in the season and they will be looking to consolidate their position in the top 6 with another win on Monday.    

Match 71: Puneri Paltan vs Haryana Steelers

Puneri Paltan take on Haryana Steelers in Match 71 of vivo Pro Kabaddi Season 7.

Head-to-head: Puneri Paltan 5 – 2 Haryana Steelers.

Puneri Paltan

Form guide:

Played: 11

Won: 4

Tied: 1

Lost: 6

Win rate: 36.36%

Best Raider: Manjeet

Best Defender: Surjeet Singh

After beating Telugu Titans in their last game, Puneri Paltan’s coach Anup Kumar stressed the importance of raiding duo Nitin Tomar and Manjeet. While Tomar has taken time to get back to his best since his return from injury, his performance against Telugu Titans will be welcomed by the team's fans. He, along with Manjeet – their leading raid points scorer – and Pankaj Mohite, will have huge roles to play against Haryana Steelers as well as in the remainder of the league. On the defensive front, skipper Surjeet Singh and his teammates’ performances have gotten better as the season has progressed. Amit Kumar, Sagar Krishna, Shubham Shinde, Balasaheb Jadhav and Hadi Tajik, have all had their moments to shine this season, which also demonstrates the defensive depth in their squad.

Haryana Steelers

Form guide:

Played: 11

Won: 7

Tied: 0

Lost: 4

Win rate: 63.64%

Best Raider: Vikash Kandola

Best Defender: Dharmaraj Cheralathan

Haryana Steelers have won six of their last seven matches and will be confident about beating Puneri Paltan, having already gotten the better of them once this season. Vikash Kandola has been their talisman and he will once again be the team’s biggest threat against Puneri Paltan. Having said that, Prashanth Kumar Rai and Vinay showed everyone what they are capable of in their last outing and they will be hoping to produce another strong showing on Monday. The team's defence also looks balanced and settled with the evergreen Dharmaraj Cheralathan organising his troops and leading by example. With individuals like Sunil, Vikas Kale and Ravi Kumar – who scored a High 5 in the previous game – for support in defence, opposition raiders will have to be on top of their game to have an impact on the contest.