The Pro Kabaddi League Season 4 reaches Delhi today at the Thyagraj Sports Complex, where the home side, Dabang Delhi takes on the Bengal Warriors. The home side is bottom of the table, with 3 matches in hand over 7th placed Bengal Warriors. The Dabangs still have a mathematical chance of making it to the top 4, but they need to win all their matches, starting today. That’s going to be nothing short of a miracle, given Delhi have won just 3 matches this season.
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Bengal Warriors are 7th and are already eliminated from this season’s Pro Kabaddi competition but the side will look to go out with a solid performance in their last match today.
Dabang Delhi performance so far
Dabang Delhi gave it their all in a close 22-24 loss against Season 1 champs, the Jaipur Pink Panthers. Delhi went off to a flying start, as Jasvir Singh, Shabeer Bapu, and Rajesh Narwal were sent to the bench early on. Delhi’s defenders were on fire. Ajay Kumar and Jasvir Singh helped Jaipur to come back and take a 14-11 lead.
Meraj Sheykh announced himself on the match, as he scored from crucial do-or-die raids to put the pressure back on Jaipur. The Panthers was in a spot of bother when Ajay Kumar stepped up to pick up a crucial do-or-die raid to win the match for Jaipur.
Delhi’s skipper, Meraj Sheykh has to carry on his impressive showing at Season 4, if Delhi is to have any chance of a semis qualification. Sheykh will have an important role to play against the likes of Jang-Kun Lee and Monu Goyat. The Iranian has 49 raid points to his credit, too.
Sachin Shingade has been an absolute beast in Delhi’s defense this season, and raiders have found it very hard to get past the Islampur man. The man from Maharashtra has 33 tackle points to his name and has been one of Season 4’s best defender.
Kashiling Adake is a man of a lot of experience and he needs to get back in form at such a crucial stage. Delhi has all to lose in tonight’s match, and a good performance from Adake will calm Delhi’s nerves.
Bengal Warriors performance so far
The Bengal Warriors shocked U Mumba 31-27 in their last match win over the Bollywood side. Mumbai has been under a lot of pressure from Puneri Paltans breathing down their neck at 5th place. The match was evenly balanced in the first half as raiders from both sides performed well, with Rakesh Kumar opening the story. Kolkata’s sensation, Jang-Kun Lee was impressive, along with the likes of Monu Goyat. Bengal led 11-9 at half time.
Anup Kumar tried to stage a comeback, but Bengal was smart with raids and intelligent tackles. Bengal led 30-17 with three minutes remaining, but as they have done this season, the Warriors gave Mumbai a glimpse of a comeback. Rishank did all he could but it all a little too late for the team from Maharashtra.
Bengal’s crowd favorite, Jang-Kun Lee has been brilliant this season, with two super 10s in the tournament. Had Bengal held on to their lead late into games, the South Korean’s performance could have accounted for much more. Lee has 56 raid points to his name, and would look to say goodbye to Season 4 with another standout performance.
Nitin Mandane and Monu Goyat will have to support Jang-Kun Lee in today’s match against a strong Delhi defense of Meraj Sheykh and Sachin Shingade. Goyat has 51 raid points, while Mandane has 50 to his credit.
Nilesh Shinde’s Season 4 has been underwhelming so far, and the Bengal skipper will look to end Season 4 on a high.
Match Prediction
Every match from now on will be a knockout for Delhi side, and it helps that they will be at home for all the remaining matches. However, other match results have to go their way, too.
Jang-Kun Lee and Monu Goyat vs Meraj Sheykh and Sachin Shingade will be a fascinating battle. Bengal has shown excellent raiding qualities at a time, and if they can hold their nerves in the end, Delhi is in for a tough night.
Bengal has put up some good performances in the last few matches, and might just pull one over the capital side tonight.
Squads
Dabang Delhi
Defenders: Ram Kumar Sah, Prashant Chavan, D.Gopu, D.Suresh Kumar, Sachin Shingade
All-rounders: Bhupender Singh, Meraj Sheykh, Hadi Tajik, Phonchoo Tin, Manjeet
Raiders: Kashiling Adake, Selvamani K, Prashant Kumar Rai, Deepak Narwal, Umesh Mhatre, Sanket Chavan, Vikash Khandol
Bengal Warriors
Defenders: Nilesh Shinde, Girish Ernak, Amit Singh Chhillar, Vishal Mane, Chaminda R.S.M, C.Arun, Ravi Kumar, Sushil Vijay Bhosle
All-rounders: Suyog Rajapkar, Yogesh Subhash Sawant
Raiders: Simon Kibura, Jang-Kun Lee, Nitin Mandane, Surjeet Narwal, Ravi Dalal, Shrikant Jadhav, Mahendra Ganesh Rajput, Ravindra Ramesh Kumavat
Dabang Delhi vs Bengal Warriors Live Match Information
Date: 24/07/2016
Time: 20:00 IST
Venue: Thyagraj Sports Complex, Delhi
TV Channels: Star Sports 2/Star Sports 2 HD (English), Star Sports 3/Star Sports 3 HD (Hindi)
Live stream: StarSports.com
