Hosts Telugu Titans will be keen to put their opening fixture loss against U Mumba behind as they face off against the Ajay Thakur-led Tamil Thalaivas in the day's second game at the Gachibowli Indoor Stadium in Hyderabad as part of Pro Kabaddi 2019.
The Telugu Titans were made to sweat it out in their opening game as all the hopes pinned on star raider Siddharth Desai proved to be their undoing. Desai picked up his first point only in the 33rd minute and finished with just five points from the game.
With the youngster looking to make amends for a poor show, he will come up against the mighty defensive unit of the Tamil Thalaivas, who have roped in the services of ace corner defenders Mohit Chhillar and Ran Singh, while Manjeet Chhillar will be the man in focus from the left cover position.
However, the marquee clash will undoubtedly be the face-off between Telugu Titans' ex-star raider Rahul Chaudhari, who will be donning the colors of the Tamil Thalaivas for the first edition as he looks to plot the downfall of a franchise which he represented for the previous six editions of the PKL.
Along with Rahul, the Thalaivas also boast of the presence of national team captain Ajay Thakur, who will be leading the side for the third consecutive season. Thakur has 426 points from 44 matches across two seasons and will hold the aces for his side.
Will the Rahul Chaudhari storm take over at the Gachibowli Stadium or will the corner duo of Abozar Mighani and Vishal Bhardwaj stand tall to the task? A mouth-watering contest awaits!
Predicted starting 7s
Telugu Titans: Abozar Mighani (c), Siddharth Desai, Rajnish, Vishal Bhardwaj, Farhad Milaghardan, C Arun, Rakesh Gowda.
Tamil Thalaivas: Ajay Thakur (c), Rahul Chaudhari, Manjeet Chhillar, Mohit Chhillar, Ran Singh, Shabeer Bappu, Ponparthiban Subramanian.
Match Prediction
The Telugu Titans did not have the best of starts to their PKL 2019 campaign as they came up short against U Mumba. With a formidable Tamil Thalaivas line-up coming up against the hosts, they will need Siddharth Desai to fire on all cylinders to add life to their campaign.
However, it remains to see if the youngster can overshadow the acres of experience in the Thalaivas' defense unit, with the likes of Manjeet, Mohit and Ran Singh certain to make matters difficult for the lanky raider.
Rahul Chaudhari will also want to prove a point to his battalion of fans at the Gachibowli, albeit against them as he will be banked on to produce a top show against the Titans, with Ajay Thakur playing the perfect foil in the raiding unit.
Tamil Thalaivas could be expected to win this match.
Where and when to watch, live streaming details
Date: Sunday, 21st July 2019
Start time: 8.30 PM IST.
Venue: Gachibowli Indoor Stadium, Hyderabad.
Live telecast: Star Sports Network
Live streaming: Hotstar
Live updates: Sportskeeda
Follow Sportskeeda to get the 2019 Pro Kabaddi Points Table, PKL Results, PKL Stats, 2019 PKL Schedule and Latest News and Updates.