Playing their final home leg encounter of this season, the Telugu Titans will be desperate to pick up their first win of the season when they face off against the Patna Pirates in Match 11 of Pro Kabaddi 2019 at the Gachibowli Indoor Stadium in Hyderabad.
The Titans have endured a disheartening start to their PKL 7 campaign as they have succumbed to three straight losses, one each against U Mumba, Tamil Thalaivas and most recently, a heart-wrenching one-point loss to Dabang Delhi K.C.
Suraj Desai's record breaking debut of 18 raid points did not suffice against Delhi as the defensive unit kept handing away easy points and with the might of the Patna Pirates, led by Pardeep Narwal set to come hard against them, the alliance between skipper Abozar Mighani and Vishal Bharadwaj will need to come to the party.
Season six stalwart Siddharth Desai has failed to come off the blocks and has registered only a paltry 19 points to his name, a sub-standard performance thus far which will certainly need a facelift against a slightly shaky Patna Pirates defensive unit.
The Pirates will be coming into this competition on the back of a 32-34 loss at the hands of defending champions Bengaluru Bulls and will turn to Mohammad Maghsoudlou, who picked up 9 points on his PKL debut to pile the pressure on the Titans' with his all-round ability.
Star raider Pardeep Narwal did pick up a Super 10 against the Bulls but was not his consistent best, and with the Titans under pressure to script a win in front of their home fans, the Pirates skipper will be the 'X-factor' for his side.
Predicted starting 7s
Telugu Titans: Abozar Mighani (c), Siddharth Desai, Suraj Desai, Vishal Bhardwaj, Farhad Milaghardan, Rakesh Gowda, C Arun.
Patna Pirates: Pardeep Narwal (c), Mohammad Esmail Maghsoudlou, Jang Kun Lee, Jaideep, Neeraj Kumar, Vikas Jaglan, Hadi Oshtorak.
Match Prediction
The Titans have lacked confidence all through the home leg and a couple of tactical changes in the team have baffled fans and pundits alike. The failure of Siddharth Desai has not helped their cause as the youngster has failed to arrive this season.
The Pirates, on the other hand, seemed to have made a positive signing in the form of Mohammad Esmaeil Maghsoudlou, who proved to be a force to reckon with in both departments. Jang Kun Lee was rather quiet against the Bulls and will want to make an impact against the Titans.
Patna Pirates could be expected to win this encounter.
Where and when to watch, live streaming details
Date: Friday, 26th July 2019
Start time: 8.30 PM IST.
Venue: Gachibowli Indoor Stadium, Hyderabad.
Live telecast: Star Sports Network
Live streaming: Hotstar
Live updates: Sportskeeda
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