Haryana Steelers eye second spot, while Patna Pirates look to extend lead at top

Two terrific vivo Pro Kabaddi matches are heading your way on Tuesday.

In the first game of the doubleheader, Tamil Thalaivas will take on Haryana Steelers, and in the second, Patna Pirates will battle U Mumba.

Check out our preview for both games:

Match 102: Tamil Thalaivas vs Haryana Steelers

In their previous outing, the Tamil Thalaivas succumbed to a narrow 35-33 loss against U Mumba. The Thalaivas had a torrid first half but came back strong in the second; however, their comeback fell short. The raiding unit had a poor outing as they managed only 16 raid points while conceding 14 tackle points. The defence outscored U Mumba’s raiding unit in the second half, but had an uncharacteristically poor first half, which left them a mountain to climb in the second. Coach J Udaya Kumar will want his side to emulate their performance from the second half, and if they do manage that, they could find themselves in the top six of the points table by the end of the night.

The Haryana Steelers come into this game on the back of two successive wins. Haryana have held their opponents to under 30 points in their last two matches, and coach Rakesh Kumar will be proud of the effort his team put in on offence and defence to achieve that feat. After having a rather low-scoring campaign by his lofty standard, Vikash Kandola has finally picked up form and has scored three Super 10s in his last four outings. A fourth in five games will go a long way in helping Haryana hop to second on the points table. 

Tamil Thalaivas vs Haryana Steelers head-to-head

The Tamil Thalaivas hold a 2-1 lead in their head-to-head matches against Haryana Steelers. The two teams have shared the spoils thrice. In their first meeting this season, the Thalaivas trounced the Steelers 45-26. 

Match 103: U Mumba vs Patna Pirates

The Patna Pirates have been in scintillating form of late. They have won three games on the trot and have claimed the top spot on the points table and also have a game in hand over second-placed Dabang Delhi K.C. Their defence has been dominant and has averaged 12.33 tackle points in their last three matches. Mohammadreza Chiyaneh has scored three straight High 5 and will be looking for a fourth against compatriot Fazel Atrachali’s side. The Pirates are the most in-form side in vivo PKL and are playing excellent kabaddi on both sides of the mat. It would take a mighty effort from a team to upstage the Pirates. 

U Mumba have been inconsistent but find themselves sixth on the points table. They were stellar in the first half against the Tamil Thalaivas but were completely out of sorts in the second. They hung on to win the game by two points, but coach Rajaguru Subramanian will expect his side to manage games better than they did against the Thalaivas. Raider Abhishek Singh bagged his sixth Super 10 of the season, while V Ajith Kumar played an excellent supporting role and scored seven raid points. U Mumba have won five and tied one game when Abhishek scores a Super 10. The team will hope a seventh Super 10 is forthcoming on Tuesday against the Pirates.

U Mumba vs Patna Pirates head-to-head

U Mumba have won nine and lost five of their 15 matches against the Patna Pirates. One game between the two sides has finished in a tie. The Pirates dismantled U Mumba 43-23 in their first meeting this season.

PKL Schedule for Tuesday, February 8

Match 102: Tamil Thalaivas vs Haryana Steelers, 7:30 PM IST

Match 103: U Mumba vs Patna Pirates, 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.