Steelers and Pirates look to go one better on Day 2 of Haryana leg

VIVO Pro Kabaddi Season 5 ushers in Day 2 of the Haryana leg as the Inter Zone Challenge Week continues at the Motilal Nehru School of Sports in Sonepat on Saturday. Following a tie on Friday, double defending champions Patna Pirates will again be in action against U Mumba, while hosts Haryana Steelers, who were against the Pirates on the other side of the mat yesterday, will lock horns with Bengaluru Bulls for the first time this season. Here’s a look at today’s fixtures.

Match 69: Patna Pirates vs U Mumba

Head-to-head: Patna Pirates 4-5 U Mumba (1 tie)

 Patna Pirates are looking their menacing best with Pardeep Narwal being a man on a mission and almost unstoppable in his pursuits. Though they shared the points with Haryana Steelers yesterday, their sensational comeback in the match should worry their Saturday’s opponents. Star raiders Pardeep and Monu Goyat are expected to do what they have been doing all along this season. The area of worry for Patna, however, is the lacklustre defence, which needs to improve to check what is a very good Mumbai side.

U Mumba, meanwhile, are back in form with three successive wins of late. Having already beaten Zone B table toppers Bengal Warriors earlier this week, they now face the second-placed team in Zone B tonight and will look to replicate their performance against Bengal. Captain Cool Anup Kumar has performed and led the team admirably, especially in the last few matches, and if U Mumba are to chase away the Pirates, he has to be at the top of his game once again.  

 Match 70: Haryana Steelers vs Bengaluru Bulls

Haryana Steelers meet Bengaluru Bulls for the first time this season tonight. In light of their home advantage, Haryana have the upper hand against the Bulls, whose poor Season 5 campaign continues. Mohit Chhillar and captain Surender Nada are performing wonderfully in defence for Haryana and the absence of the injured Vikas Kandola has also been nicely covered by Prashanth Kumar Rai. The Steelers are in good form and that should worry the Bulls a great deal.

Nothing seems to be going well for Bengaluru Bulls this season, with them having won just 3 of their 11 encounters so far in Zone B. Five defeats in their last five matches say everything about their campaign. Captain Rohit Kumar’s form has been exemplary but it’s the defence which has let the Bulls down this season. 

Catch the matches live on the Star Sports network and hotstar from 7.30 pm onwards.