Pro Kabaddi 2016, Season 4: Patna Pirates vs U Mumba Preview: Match Prediction, Time, Venue, Playing Squads & Live Match Telecast info

By Pragadeesh

Modified Jul 16, 2016 16:09 IST

The in-form Rakesh Kumar holds key for U Mumba against the Pirates in Saturday’s epic clash

The Star Sports Pro Kabaddi season 4 action shifts to the city of joy, on Saturday, after witnessing a lot of nail-wrecking battles in the Bengaluru leg. The second match of the Kolkata leg will see, the defending Champions Patna Pirates go head to head against three-time finalists U Mumba at the Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose Indoor Stadium.

The Dharmaraj Cheralathan led Patna responded strongly against the Bengaluru Bulls after two back to back defeats. The season 3 champions will look to move to the top of the table as they are tied with the Jaipur Pink Panthers on 31 points. The win against U Mumba in today’s encounter also pushes the Pirates close to the playoffs.

The season 2 champions, U Mumba showed their supremacy against the table toppers Jaipur Pink Panthers on Thursday. U Mumba, the most consistent team in Pro Kabaddi, looked rusty in the first phase of season 4 due to uninspired defence but have responded really well in the last two matches. With 5 wins and 3 losses, the Anup Kumar led U Mumba lies in fifth place with 27 points.

Match Prediction

Pardeep Narwal is surely the player to watch out for in today’s epic clash. The best raider of season 3 was rock solid in the first 5 matches with 53 raid points but Pardeep's consistency has shrivelled in the last three matches with just 10 points. The 19-year-old troubled U Mumba in the past with his destructive raids in the dying moments of a game. Pardeep will be wary of the defensive threat of U Mumba, lead by the in-form Rakesh Kumar.

The Pirates are really pleased with the exceptional performance of Rajesh Mondal against Bengaluru Bulls. Mondal’s stunning form really uplifts the team, heading into today’s battle against U Mumba.

The deadliest defensive duo of Dharmaraj Cheralathan and Fazel Atrachali should come good against the experienced Anup Kumar and Rishank Devadiga. The former U Mumba defender Fazel Atrachali will come up against his old counterparts in today's mouth-watering contest.

The Iranian defender was belligerent against the Bulls, on the left corner, with stunning super tackles. The strong and muscular Fazel proves to be a great challenge for Anup Kumar, who mostly attacks the left side.

U Mumba, on the other hand, rely a lot on the experienced Rakesh Kumar to overcome the Patna threat. The splendid all-round show by the 34-year-old turned the tide in favour of U Mumba against Jaipur Pink Panthers. The former Indian captain has been a backbone of U Mumba in both attack and defence. The trio of Rakesh Kumar, Surjeet and Jeeva faces a tough battle against one of the best attacks in Pro Kabaddi.

Anup Kumar’s attacking play, is predictable for the defenders in season 4 and moreover, the do-or-die specialist Rishank Devadiga’s poor form makes the attack even worse for U Mumba. It's high time for the duo along with Suresu Kumar to put a stellar performance against the Pirates

The head to head stands in favour of Mumbai with 4 wins in the past 8 battles, but the Pirates defeated the season 2 champions in the last two encounters including a slender two-point win at the Sawai Mansingh Stadium, in Jaipur.

This is going to be one of the epic clashes in pro-Kabaddi, therefore, it’s very difficult to predict a winner, but Patna’s momentum in season 4 holds the cutting edge over U Mumba. Let’s wait and watch, who comes out on top in the dying moments of the game.

Squads

Patna Pirates

Defenders: Dharmraj Cheralathan, Bajirao Hodage, Deepak Dhull, Vijin Thangadurai, Fazel Atrachali, Abolfazel Maghsodlo, Sunny, Sunil Kumar

All-rounders: Sanjay Kumar, Hadi Oshtorak, Kuldeep Singh

Raider: Mahesh Goud, Pardeep Narwal, Rajesh Mondal, Vinoth Paulyas

U Mumba

Defenders: Jeeva Kumar, Vikas Kale, Sunil Kumar, Manoj Dhull

All-rounder: Rakesh Kumar, Sourav V

Raider: Gurvinder Singh, Mohammed Aruduzzaman Munshi, Suresu Kumar, Surendra Singh, Mohammed Zakir Hussain, Tuhin Tarafder, Anup Kumar, Rishank Devadiga, Nitin Kumar