Resurgent Haryana Steelers face robust Bengaluru Bulls

The Inter Zone Challenge Week continues and serves up a battle of the south against the north as Bengaluru Bulls take on Haryana Steelers in Match 31 of VIVO Pro Kabaddi Season 6 at the Shree Shiv Chhatrapati Sports Complex in Pune on Wednesday.

Bengaluru Bulls are coming off a narrow defeat against home team Puneri Paltan in a match that went all the way to the final raid of the game. Bengaluru Bulls will try and brush off that loss and score a win when they take on Haryana Steelers.

Haryana Steelers ended their home leg on a high with a win against Dabang Delhi K.C. and gained some much-needed momentum heading into this match against Bengaluru Bulls.

Match 31(Inter Zone Challenge): Bengaluru Bulls vs. Haryana Steelers

Head-to-head: Haryana Steelers 1-0 Bengaluru Bulls

After a perfect start to the campaign with two wins in two, Bengaluru Bulls succumbed to their first loss of the campaign in a thrilling contest against Puneri Paltan. The match went to the wire with Bengaluru Bulls trailing by a solitary point but Puneri Paltan’s outstanding defence managed to stop Kashiling Adake escaping with a Bonus point to level the match and beat Bengaluru Bulls by only a couple of points. There were positives for Bengaluru Bulls as they managed to limit Puneri Paltan’s starting three raiders to just six points. The defence will need to deliver a similar performance against Haryana Steelers’ potent raiding trio to boost their team’s chances of winning their third game this season.

After a tough home leg, that saw them lose four games in a row, Haryana Steelers finished it with a flourish with a win against in-form Dabang Delhi K.C. Their raiding trio of captain Monu Goyat, Naveen and Vikash Khandola bagged 19 raid points, whereas the team’s defence contributed 12 in what was a collective effort from Haryana Steelers. With wind in their sails, Haryana Steelers will look to make good of their team chemistry and win their second game in a row when they battle Bengaluru Bulls

The big battle

Monu Goyat vs. Pawan Kumar Sehrawat

With 40 raid points in just three games this campaign, Pawan Kumar Sehrawat has led the Bengaluru Bulls offence with his mighty performances. Haryana Steelers’ Cover and Corner duo of Kuldeep Singh and Parveen have been in good form and Sehrawat will have to stay vigilant to the threat of this duo. 22 raid points in his last two matches indicate that Haryana Steelers captain Monu Goyat has hit top gear and he has led his team by example in that spell. His performance will be crucial in determining Haryana Steelers’ fortunes against Bengaluru Bulls.

Key Khiladi

Kashiling Adake – Bengaluru Bulls

While his raiding exploits in VIVO Pro Kabaddi are stuff of legends, Kashiling Adake showed a different side to his game in Bengaluru Bulls’ last match against Puneri Paltan, scoring four tackle points in three attempts, including an outstanding Super Tackle. With Haryana Steelers boasting of a potent raiding trio, Adake’s all-round abilities will be handy in their quest to triumph over the team from the north.

Vikash Khandola – Haryana Steelers

20-year-old Vikash Khandola has played beyond his years for Haryana Steelers in Season 6, scoring a team-leading 44 raid points for them. He has racked up 12 raid points in Do-Or-Die raids this campaign, showcasing his innate ability to perform in clutch situations for his side. Haryana Steelers will expect another big game from Khandola when they take on Bengaluru Bulls.