Top spot in the standings at stake when Dabang Delhi K.C. take on Patna Pirates

A shootout for the top spot in the vivo Pro Kabaddi Season 8 standings will headline Tuesday’s doubleheader.

Second-placed Patna Pirates will take on third-placed Dabang Delhi K.C. in the first match. In the other game, Gujarat Giants will face U Mumba.

Check out our preview for both matches:

Match 62: Dabang Delhi K.C. vs Patna Pirates

Dabang Delhi K.C. snapped their two-game losing streak with a gritty 28-25 victory over the Haryana Steelers. All-rounder Vijay showcased that he can be lead the raiding unit, if need be, with his magnificent 11-point performance. The defence did not score many tackle points but was disciplined and did not leak too many raid points. Delhi will be sweating about Naveen Kumar’s health after the raider suffered a knee injury early in the second half and sat out the rest of the game. The only time Delhi played without their talisman this season, they lost by 39 points against the Bengaluru Bulls. Naveen’s importance cannot be overstated, and his absence could swing the tie in Patna Pirates’ favour.

Speaking of the Pirates, coach Ram Mehar Singh’s men are coming off an impressive 38-31 win over current league-leaders, Bengaluru Bulls. In Monu Goyat’s absence, Guman Singh stepped up and scored seven points. However, the star of the show was Right Corner Sunil, who scored nine tackle points, the most in a game by a player this season. Mohammadreza Chiyaneh and Neeraj Kumar scored three tackle points each, showcasing just how potent the Pirates’ defensive unit is. Patna are looking more and more like the team to beat this season, and if they continue playing as they did against the Bulls, the other 11 teams will have their work cut out trying to stop this freight train.

Dabang Delhi K.C. vs Patna Pirates head-to-head

Patna Pirates hold a 7-4 lead in their head-to-head matches against the Dabang Delhi K.C. One game between the two sides has finished in a tie.

Match 63: Gujarat Giants vs U Mumba

Gujarat Giants’ horrid form continued, as they succumbed to a 46-37 loss against the Bengaluru Bulls in their previous outing. While the Giants young raiding unit held their own with 24 points, the defence had another disappointing night. Only three other teams average fewer tackle points than Gujarat this season. The Giants have only one win in their last eight games, a 40-22 win over the Telugu Titans, who are rooted to the bottom of the points table and haven’t won a game this season. The Giants’ hopes of claiming a playoff spot are diminishing fast, and they need to muster a run of good results to keep them alive.

U Mumba have suffered a slump in form that has seen them slip to eighth on the points table. They have won only one of their last six games and none of their previous three. They showed tremendous grit to come back from a five-point deficit late in the game and secure a tie against the Bengal Warriors in their last match. Abhishek Singh finished as his team’s top scorer with 13 raid points, while V Ajith Kumar contributed five. Substitute Rahul Sethpal proved to be the game-changer for U Mumba, scoring four raid points and three tackle points in an impressive outing. Despite their poor run of results, U Mumba could realistically climb to fifth on the table with a win on Tuesday. Coach Rajaguru Subramanian will likely be disappointed with anything less than a victory against a team that has struggled all season long.   

Gujarat Giants vs U Mumba head-to-head

The Giants and U Mumba have faced-off eight times in vivo PKL. Gujarat have won five of those eight games while U Mumba have emerged victorious thrice.  

PKL Schedule for Monday, January 17

Match 62: Dabang Delhi K.C. vs Patna Pirates, 7:30 PM IST

Match 63: Gujarat Giants vs U Mumba, 8:30 PM IST

Where to watch vivo Pro Kabaddi live?

Catch all the LIVE action from vivo Pro Kabaddi Season 8 on the Star Sports Network and LIVE streaming on Disney+Hotstar.