In the second eliminator in the Super Playoffs of the Pro Kabaddi League Season 5, it will be the Patna Pirates taking on the Haryana Steelers at the Dome, NSCI in Mumbai.
The two teams finished at the third and second place in Zone A and Zone B respectively to qualify for the knockouts. The Patna Pirates settled for a tie in their last match against the Bengaluru Bulls while the Haryana Steelers clinched a win over Puneri Paltan in their penultimate league match.
The two teams have clashed only once before in this edition and the match was a real humdinger which ended in a 41-41 draw. Thus, even prior to this playoff fixture, both the teams look evenly matched to give the audience a similar sort of spectacle.
The Patna Pirates will rely on their talismanic skipper Pardeep Narwal to lead the way for them with his rampant raiding alongside the other threatening force, Monu Goyat. The duo has been the key to the success of the Pirates throughout the season with the team slumping to defeat in case they were not able to perform.
The defence has lacked a bit of sheen with Vishal Mane and Sachin Shingade not playing up to the mark while Jawahar Dagar and Jaideep have given sporadic displays of their prowess. Vijay, the young all-rounder has come to the fore in the last few matches and will prove to be a vital asset in the starting seven.
The Haryana Steelers, on the other hand, look like a well-balanced unit with a defensive quartet featuring the likes of the dynamic duo, Surender Nada and Monit Chillar manning either corner on the mat, with Neeraj and Rakesh Singh Kumar putting forth a formidable wall in the cover position.
In the absence of Vikas Khandola who was a sensation with his raiding in the first half of the league, the trio of Wazir Singh, Prashant Rai and Surjeet Singh/ Deepak Dahiya has been combining well to power the team across the finish line.
Patna Pirates vs Haryana Steelers match prediction
If the Steelers' defence can manage to keep the pair of Pardeep Narwal and Monu Goyat out of the equation then they can have a real chance to win this match.
Moreover, the defence has been the weak link for the Pirates and the Haryana raiders can penetrate through the opposition in order to increase the gap between the two teams on the scoreboard.