Top four spot at stake for U Mumba against in-form Puneri Paltan in Maharashtra Derby

Old friends and eternal foes will battle on Wednesday in vivo Pro Kabaddi.

In the first game, Pardeep Narwal and U.P. Yoddha will take on the Record-Breaker’s former team, the Patna Pirates. Later, Puneri Paltan and U Mumba will face off in the second Maharashtra Derby of the season. 

Check out our preview for both games:

Match 88: U.P. Yoddha vs Patna Pirates

U.P. Yoddha succumbed to a third-straight loss last night when they were beaten 31-26 by the Bengaluru Bulls. Despite the loss, there were some positives for U.P. Skipper Nitesh Kumar had a sensational outing and finished the game with six tackle points. Sumit was also brilliant and scored four tackle points, while Ashu Singh picked up three. The raiding unit, however, had a rough night. Surender Gill had a rare off day, while Pardeep Narwal’s woes continued. Shrikant Jadhav was the only raider that found any success. If U.P.’s defence plays like did it and the team’s offence comes to life, they could upstage the Pirates on Wednesday.

The Patna Pirates had their worst game of the season in their previous outing against the Jaipur Pink Panthers. They gave up 51 points and lost by 21 in one of their biggest losses in recent memory. The Pirates defence, which has been the best in the league this season, managed zero tackle points in the first half against Jaipur and gave up 15 raid points. The second half wasn’t much better either, as they could muster only five tackle points while giving up 12 raid points. The raiding unit scored 24 of the team’s 31 points but gave up 14 tackle points to Jaipur’s defence. Patna will want to brush this result off as an anomaly and look to get back to winning ways on Wednesday.

U.P. Yoddha vs Patna Pirates head-to-head

Through nine matches, U.P. Yoddha and Patna Pirates’ head-to-head series is tied at 4-4. U.P.’s fourth win came earlier this season when they beat Patna 36-35 on Christmas Day. One game between the two sides has finished in a tie.

Match 89: Puneri Paltan vs U Mumba

The Puneri Paltan have turned their season around in a dramatic fashion. After spending most of the campaign near the bottom of the standings, they can now leapfrog to fourth on the points table with a win over U Mumba on Wednesday. The key to their recent resurgence has been the astonishing form of Mohit Goyat and Aslam Inamdar. The youngsters have scored 37 and 28 points, respectively, in the Paltan’s last three outings to help their side cut the gap to the playoff spots to just four points. Pune has won three games on the trot, and a fourth will see them jump to fifth on the points table. 

U Mumba fluffed their chance to close the gap on league leaders Dabang Delhi after succumbing to a 36-30 loss against coach Krishan Kumar Hooda’s team. U Mumba’s defence kept the team in the game with a brilliant first-half performance, but the offence struggled to get going all night, which cost them four crucial points. U Mumba are fifth on the points table but only five points clear of 11th-placed Puneri Paltan. They need a win to consolidate their position in the top six and inch closer to securing a playoff berth.

Puneri Paltan vs U Mumba head-to-head

Puneri Paltan have won six and lost nine of their 17 matches against U Mumba. Two games between the teams have finished in a tie. The Paltan beat U Mumba 42-23 in their first meeting this season.

PKL Schedule for Wednesday, February 2

Match 88: U.P. Yoddha vs Patna Pirates, 7:30 PM IST

Match 89: Puneri Paltan 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.