Pro Kabaddi League 2018, Match 80: Bengaluru Bulls vs Tamil Thalaivas | Match Preview and Predicted Lineups

The home side, Bengaluru Bulls, takes on the Tamil Thalaivas in a Zone B clash at the Shree Shiv Chhatrapati Sports Complex in Pune today, Saturday at 9 pm IST.

The Bulls are coming off a defeat (31-33) after yesterday's encounter against the Bengal Warriors, as their defensive unit failed miserably and could manage just 3 tackle points in the match.

Ashish Kumar Sangwan was the only defender who could contribute in the match as he scored 2 tackle points, the remaining tackle points came from Pawan Kumar Sehrawat who was also the team's top raider with 10 raid points off his 14 attempted raids.

In totality, the Bulls attempted an astounding 18 unsuccessful tackles and were poor in decision and coordination on the night which led to their eventual defeat in the match. Jasmer Gulia, who was given another chance at the right corner, failed yet again to contribute.

The Thalaivas are also coming off a heartbreaking 18-point defeat against the Patna Pirates, courtesy a dismal defensive performance.

The defence of the Thalaivas could manage just 4 tackle points, with Manjeet Chhillar contributing with 3 tackle points and D.Gopu contributing with the remaining one. Darshan J was yet again a disappointment, while C.Arun, who came off the bench, too did not perform well. Ajay Thakur was yet again, the top raider for his side with 8 raid points, while Sukesh Hegde had a bad day as he couldn't score even a single raid point off his 5 attempted raids.

The inconsistency in the performance of the Thalaivas, especially their defence, is chipping away at on their chances at a playoff spot.

The two teams, Bengaluru Bulls and Tamil Thalaivas, have faced each other twice in the current season, Match 8 and Match 19, and both the times the Bulls came out on top with a 48-37 and a 44-35 victory respectively.

Catch the latest updates of the Pro Kabaddi Points Table here at Sportskeeda...

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Key Battles to keep an eye on

#1 Pawan Sehrawat (right raider) vs D Pradap (left corner)

#2 Ajay Thakur (right raider) vs Sandeep (left corner)

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Probable playing 7

Bengaluru Bulls: Rohit Kumar (c), Pawan Kumar Sehrawat, Kashiling Adake, Ashish Kumar Sangwan, Mahender Singh, Sandeep, and Jasmer Gulia

Tamil Thalaivas: Ajay Thakur (c), Sukesh Hegde, Surjeet Singh, Manjeet Chhillar, Ponparthiban Subramanian, D.Pradap, and D. Gopu

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When and where to watch: 21:00 IST on the Star Sports network and on digital streaming platform Hotstar.