Winners from past four seasons all feature in Mumbai leg curtain-raiser

Season 1 and Season 2 champions Jaipur Pink Panthers and U Mumba will get the Mumbai leg underway at the Dome@NSCI SVP Stadium. Both teams have had a stop-start beginning to their campaign and will be looking to get some momentum on their side come Friday evening. The second match of the evening will see two-time reigning champions Patna Pirates face Bengal Warriors in what’s expected to be another mouthwatering contest.

Match 45 (Zone A): U Mumba vs Jaipur Pink Panthers

Head-to-Head: U Mumba 5-3 Jaipur Pink Panthers. 1 draw

After a start to the season that has seen them win three and lose three of their opening six encounters, U Mumba will be hoping to make the most of home comforts over the course of their next six matches in Mumbai as they look to close the gap on Zone A leaders Gujarat Fortunegiants. Captain Cool Anup Kumar, Shabeer Bappu and youngster Surinder Singh have been in decent touch of late, however, the Mumbaikars will be hoping for more of an influence from star raider Kashiling Adake, who is experiencing a lean spell in attack this year.

The Panthers, on the other hand, will head into the match with back-to-back victories. The experienced duo of Jasvir Singh and Manjeet Chhillar have been crucial for Season 1 winners this season and will need to be on top of their game once again when they cross swords with U Mumba. Tushar Patil and Nitin Rawal, who had good outings last time around, will also be hoping to take their form into the game.

Match 46 (Zone B): Bengal Warriors vs Patna Pirates

Head-to-Head: Bengal Warriors 1-6 Patna Pirates. 1 draw

Meanwhile, the Warriors will be looking to take the momentum of a last-gasp victory over U.P. Yoddha in their previous match into their meeting with defending champions Patna Pirates. Deepak Narwal has been in sensational form for Bengal this year and has complemented Jang Kun Lee and Maninder Singh well in attack. Their defence which features Ran Singh and captain Surjeet Singh will also have a role to play given Patna’s potent attack.

The Pirates, however, will be raring to go after succumbing to their first loss of the season in a high-scoring match against Puneri Paltan in their last outing. Dubki King Pardeep Narwal is Patna’s most obvious and potent threat in attack with the likes of Monu Goyat and Vinod Kumar available in support. Their main concern though lies in defence which needs to be much tighter under the guidance of young powerhouse Vishal Mane.

Catch all the action live on the Star Sports network and hotstar from 8 pm onwards.