Jaipur look to build on win and Patna eye revenge against Gujarat

Day 3 of the Jaipur leg will feature heavy hitters from Season 5 of VIVO Pro Kabaddi as the competition to make the Super Playoffs intensifies at the Sawai Mansingh Stadium on Sunday. Zone A leaders Gujarat Fortunegiants will be up against two-time defending champions Patna Pirates in the first match, while hosts Jaipur Pink Panthers will be looking to overcome a formidable Puneri Paltan outfit.

Match 115 (Inter Zone Wildcard): Gujarat Fortunegiants vs Patna Pirates

Head-to-head: Gujarat Fortunegiants 1-0 Patna Pirates

The Fortunegiants have been one of the best sides this season, boasting a strong defence and potent raid force. The Iranian duo of Fazel Atrachali and Abozar Mighani have been a thorn in the side of opposition raiders, while the likes of Sachin, Chandran Ranjit, Mahendra Rajput and skipper Sukesh Hegde – who has been rested of late – have been bothering the defenders on the other side of the mat. Gujarat will be confident about facing the Pirates having beaten them in their last meeting.

Patna, meanwhile, will be looking to make amends after coming up short against the Zone A toppers last time around. Pardeep Narwal, who had his quietest match of the season against Gujarat, will need to be on top of his game and Monu Goyat will also have an important role to play. The reigning champions have to tighten things up in defence as well if they’re to avenge their defeat against Gujarat and go top of Zone B.

Khel Kabaddi Khiladi:

Sachin

Sachin has been Gujarat’s outstanding attacking threat and has delivered the goods more often than not for his team. His 126 raid points are the most by any player from the Fortunegiants thus far.

Pardeep Narwal

Dubki King Pardeep Narwal has been in sensational form this year having registered more Super 10s (14) than any other player. He is currently on top of the raiding leaderboard by a distance with a whopping 243 raids points.

Match 116 (Zone A) Jaipur Pink Panthers vs Puneri Paltan

Head-to-head: Jaipur Pink Panthers 6-2 Puneri Paltan. 1 tie

The Pink Panthers will be looking to make it back-to-back wins after their win over U Mumba last night. The return of Jasvir Singh from injury has been a welcome boost to the squad as his starring role in the win against Mumbai went to show. Manjeet Chhillar, who picked up a High 5 yesterday, will also have a role to play as he looks to guide younger players like Pawan Kumar, Tushar Patil and Nitin Rawal to successive wins.

However, they’ll need to get the better of Pune, who have been one of the front runners in the league and will be itching to get back on the mat after a loss to Bengal Warriors previously. Their defence has been mostly solid this campaign and boasts individuals like Dharmaraj Cheralathan, Girish Maruti Ernak, Sandeep Narwal and Ziaur Rahman. They will need more firepower in attack though and have to look beyond just Deepak Hooda and Rajesh Mondal for raid points.

Khel Kabaddi Khiladi:

Jasvir Singh

Jasvir Singh has been in a rich vein of form after recovering from injury and will be hoping to help the Panthers to successive wins in front of the home support. He has managed more super raids (3) for Jaipur than any other player, including his stunning five-point raid earlier this campaign.

Deepak Hooda

Deepak Hooda can be expected to deliver the goods in attack having coped with the pressure of captaining as well as being his side’s primary raider all season. The Pune skipper has managed 102 raid points in 15 matches so far.

Catch the action live on the Star Sports network and hotstar from 7.30 pm onwards.