As a part of the second Inter-Zone Challenge Week of the Pro Kabaddi League Season 5, Dabang Delhi will lock horns against the Bulls from Bengaluru at the Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose Indoor Stadium in Kolkata.
Both teams are coming into this encounter post a long break and contrasting results as well. While Dabang Delhi scored a narrow win by just one point over U Mumba in their previous match, Bengaluru Bulls succumbed to a defeat against the Bengal Warriors.
Dabang Delhi have largely benefitted from their Iranian recruits spearheading the attack of the side, Abolfazl Maghsoudlou and skipper, Meraj Sheykh to be precise. Both of these players have been in stellar form in the recent matches and do the bulk of the scoring for the side.
In that context, the seasoned defenders in the likes of Nilesh Shinde and Bajirao Hodage have yet not performed up to the mark and need to buck up with their tackles and blocks. The third raider has been a concern for the side with neither Rohit Baliyan nor Ravi Dalal being a major threat for the opposition so far. Among the rest, Viraj Landge, Tapas Pal and Sunil are the options left for the gaffer in order to form the starting seven.
On the other hand, the Bengaluru Bulls are primarily dependent on their talismanic skipper, Rohit Kumar to lead the charge with his raids and score the maximum amount of points as has been evident with his stats of 90 points in the season so far. Ajay was quite impressive in the initial matches but did not sustain the momentum and now it is Gurvinder Singh who assists the attack with Harish Naik.
All-rounder Ashish Kumar is a vital cog in the machine with his ability to perform on either shore. The defence is largely manned by the experienced Ravinder Pahal who is lethal in the corner position with his ankle holds, and he is supported by young guns in the likes of Mahender Singh and Kuldeep Singh both of whom have been quite consistent with respect to their tackle rate.
Dabang Delhi vs Bengaluru Bulls match prediction
Dabang Delhi will have a slight upper hand going into this clash but one cannot under estimate the Bulls, for they are most likely to win if they showcase an all-round performance. If the defence manages to keep, Meraj and Abolfazl off the mat for longer periods of time, the Bulls will surely get an easy win over Delhi.