Patna Pirates seek season revival as they head south to battle Bengaluru Bulls

A heavyweight raiding duel is in the offing on Wednesday as Patna Pirates visit Bengaluru to take on the home side Bengaluru Bulls at the Sree Kanteerava Stadium. The match will pit 'Hi-Flyer' Pawan Sehrawat against the 'Record-Breaker' Pardeep Narwal in what promises to be a tantalising duel. While Bengaluru Bulls are looking to become just the third team to win multiple games during their home leg in Season 7, Patna Pirates will be hoping for a positive result to kickstart their campaign.

Match 74: Bengaluru Bulls vs. Patna Pirates

Head-to-head: Bengaluru Bulls 4-10 Patna Pirates. 2 Ties.

Bengaluru Bulls

Played: 13

Won: 7

Tied: 0

Lost: 6

Win Rate: 53.65%

Best Raider: Pawan Sehrawat

Best Defender: Mahender Singh

Spirits will be high in the Bengaluru Bulls camp after their first win at home, thanks to a raiding masterclass from Sehrawat. The reigning MVP has been sensational this season and leads the league in the points leaderboard with 157 points. In defence, Cover Mahender Singh has had a strong season and is the fifth highest tackle point scorer in the league. Stalwarts Rohit Kumar and Amit Sheoran have found form in the team’s recent outings, while rookie Saurabh Nandal continues to be a revelation for the side. Bengaluru Bulls currently sit fourth in the standings – having played at least a game more than those around them in the table – but their form over the past several matches has been patchy, to say the least. Since their run of three successive win, they have failed to muster back-to-back wins in their subsequent eight matches. They can put that to bed with a win over the three-time champions on Wednesday.

Patna Pirates

Played: 11

Won: 3

Tied: 0

Lost: 8

Win Rate: 27.27%

Best Raider: Pardeep Narwal

Best Defender: Jaideep

Patna Pirates had a forgettable first half of the campaign, winning just three off their 11 matches and losing the rest. 'Record-Breaker' Pradeep has been at his usual best and is one of only three raiders with over 100 raid points, however, the support for Patna Pirates' talisman has been severely lacking this season. Mohammad Esmaeil Maghsoudlou, who started the campaign brightly, is the team’s second most successful raider and has scored 23 raid points in 11 appearances, averaging just over two raid points per game. The defence, too, has been sub-par, with only Jaideep featuring in the league’s top 20 tackle point scorers from Patna Pirates' roster. While the Left Corner leads the side in tackle points with 30, his tackle success rate is just 48.38%. With the defence struggling and the offence solely reliant on Pardeep, coach Ram Mehar Singh has a task on his hands as he tries to get this team up and running to be in contention for a playoffs spot.