U Mumba take on a tough Jaipur Pink Panthers in quest for opening win

After a close tie in their opening game, U Mumba will face a Jaipur Pink Panthers team with a strong roster in a bid to get their first win of VIVO Pro Kabaddi Season 6. They looked good in their opening game and will want to continue the same momentum into this one.

A second Southern Derby will also be on display and home team Tamil Thalaivas look to get their campaign back on the winning track against Bengaluru Bulls. Here are the matches of the day.

Match 7 (Zone A) – U Mumba vs Jaipur Pink Panthers

Head-to-head: U Mumba 6 – 5 Jaipur Pink Panthers. 1 Tie

U Mumba looked a strong overall unit against Puneri Paltan with Fazel Atrachali combining brilliantly with Dharmaraj Cheralathan to shore up the defence while young Siddharth Desai impressed with his versatile raiding. If the trio gets the support of Abolfazl Maghsodloumahali, who has shown a good knack for raiding in Do-or-die situations they will form a very strong core and the pressure will be on Jaipur to find a way of breaking through this combination.

The Pink Panthers have their own share of strong combinations through with Mohit Chhillar and Sandeep Dhull guarding the Corners and Bajirao Hodage adding his experience in the Covers. They have the advantage of having Captain Cool Anup Kumar at the helm which could make the difference in a high-pressure match. All-rounders like Nitin Rawal and Deepak Hooda give the team an added balance which leaves them spoilt for choice.

The big battle

Dharmaraj Cheralathan vs Anup Kumar

Two veterans of the game will try and outfox each other when they take the mat on Wednesday. Kumar’s smart gameplay and Cheralathan’s instinctive knowledge of a raider’s next move will mean that everything will depend on who is able to apply themselves better on the day.

Key Khiladi

Siddharth Desai – U Mumba

Young Siddharth Desai impressed one-and-all when he took on a strong Puneri Paltan defence and returned 14 points in his U Mumba debut. His raiding ability was the key amidst U Mumba’s strong defence and he will have to continue on the same note if the team is to make an impact.

Deepak Hooda – Jaipur Pink Panthers

An all-rounder of the highest quality, Deepak Hooda is always waiting for a chance to prove himself on the mat. With a strong Jaipur Pink Panthers line up backing him up and Captain Cool’s guidance he could do wonders for the team.

Match 8 (Zone B) – Tamil Thalaivas vs Bengaluru Bulls

Head-to-head: Tamil Thalaivas 1 -2 Bengaluru Bulls

Tamil Thalaivas will be keen to get their home campaign back on track. They will want to take an early lead like they did in the first match against Patna Pirates to give themselves a boost in confidence in their fourth home game. However, with a solid roster of raiders, the Bulls will prove to be difficult opponents to beat.

Ajay Thakur has by far been the most impressive raider for the Thalaivas, scoring two consecutive Super 10s in the opening two games and narrowly missing out on one against Telugu Titans. He has been well supported by Athul MS. The youngster has shown a lot of promise and could well step his game up in the coming matches to give the Thalaivas even more depth and options in raiding. Manjeet Chhillar and Amit Hooda have been two pillars of the Tamil Thalaivas’ defence and will have a big role to play against the strong Bengaluru raiding unit.

The Bulls have two big raiders in Rohit Kumar and Kashiling Adake along with Harish Naik, who showed a lot of promise last season. They will want their youngster like Anand V and Rohit to step up early and backup an already stacked offence to make sure they always have quality raiders on the mat. Mahender Singh and Ashish Kumar still form the backbone of the team’s defence and will now be joined by Raju Lal Choudhary to add more strength to the side.

The big battle

Amit Hooda vs Kashiling Adake

Amit Hooda will be high on confidence after a supreme High 5 against Telugu Titans. He will want to take out Kashiling Adake out of the equation early to put pressure on captain Rohit Kumar. Adake, meanwhile, will want a good start to his campaign with the Bulls.

Key Khiladi

Jasvir Singh – Tamil Thalaivas

As a senior player and experienced player, Jasvir Singh’s form will be of prime importance for the Thalaivas if they are to turn things around in their home leg.

Kashiling Adake – Bengaluru Bulls

Partnering the raiding star Rohit Kumar in Bengaluru Bulls’ Season 6 team will be Kashiling Adake who will want to make a big splash with the Bulls on his return to the team. He is the fifth most successful raider in the history of the league and just 6 raid points short of the 500 raid point mark.