In-form Patna Pirates face stern test against resurgent Tamil Thalaivas

With wins in each of their past three outings, defending champions Patna Pirates will aim to make it four in a row when they take on Tamil Thalaivas at The Arena by TransStadia in Ahmedabad on Wednesday. A victory for Patna Pirates will see them close the gap on Zone B toppers Bengaluru Bulls to just two points.

The two teams last battled on the opening night of VIVO Pro Kabaddi Season 6 where home team Tamil Thalaivas came out victors by an impressive scoreline of 42-26.  

Match 74 (Zone B): Patna Pirates vs. Tamil Thalaivas

Head-to-head: Patna Pirates 2-2 Tamil Thalaivas

Form guide

Stats from the last five matches

Average raid points: 38.0

Average tackle points: 37.6

Best Raider: Pardeep Narwal

Best defender: Jaideep

Stats from the last five matches:

Average raid points: 30.4

Average tackle points: 30.2

Best Raider: Ajay Thakur

Best defender: Manjeet Chhillar

The big battle

Jaideep vs. Ajay Thakur

After a standout rookie campaign in VIVO Pro Kabaddi Season 5 that saw him score 71 tackle points at an average of 2.73, Patna Pirates Left Corner Jaideep has kicked on and become one of the best defenders in the league in Season 6. He currently ranks third in the race for Best Defender with 42 Tackle Points and his average of 3.50 tackle points a game is the fifth best in the league. But of his 42, only 1 came against Tamil Thalaivas on the opening night of the season.

After crossing 100 raid points for the second straight season, Ajay Thakur became one of a handful of raiders with three campaign of 100+ raid points in VIVO Pro Kabaddi, cementing his place among the elites of the sport. His team have had a decent campaign, but Thakur has been at his scintillating best, averaging 9.75 raid points in 12 matches so far. On opening night, Thakur scored 14 of his team’s 24 raid points and led them to a sensational victory over the defending champions.

While Jaideep has managed to tackle Thakur twice in their three matches against each other, the raider has had the upper hand in this duel, scoring six points against the Left Corner. If Jaideep manages to keep Thakur in check, the odds of Patna Pirates winning their fourth straight game would increase drastically.

Key Khiladi

Pardeep Narwal – Patna Pirates

Reigning MVP Pardeep Narwal has been at his usual best this campaign and is yet again one of the top contenders to take home the Best Raider Award. He currently ranks third in league for most raid points with 122 but his average of 11.09 raid points is bettered only by Bengaluru Bulls’ Pawan Kumar Sehrawat. Narwal averages 11.50 raid points in his four outings against Tamil Thalaivas and scored 11 in his team’s opening night loss against them. If history is anything to go by, Narwal is poised for another big night against Tamil Thalaivas.

Manjeet Chhillar – Tamil Thalaivas

With 40 tackles points in 12 games in Season 6, Manjeet Chhillar is just seven short of his tally from the previous campaign in what has been a year of resurgence for the veteran all-rounder. Apart from his outstanding contribution in defence from the cover position, Chhillar has also acted as a floor general alongside Ajay Thakur, constantly rallying the players. Having played against Narwal several times and also having shared the dressing room with the mercurial raider, Chhillar’s insight in Tamil Thailaivas’ efforts to curb Narwal’s impact could prove to be invaluable.