The Tamil Thalaivas will take on Dabang Delhi KC in the first match of a PKL 10 doubleheader on Sunday, December 3 at The Arena by TransStadia in Ahmedabad.
Both teams made the playoffs in PKL 9, with the Thalaivas having a dream run and making the semi-finals, losing narrowly to the Puneri Paltan. They did all that without their star signing Pawan Sehrawat, on whom they spent more than half their budget. Considering that they have more of a full-strength squad now, it'll be interesting to see how they fare this season.
Dabang Delhi KC won PKL 8, but they barely made it to the playoffs in season 9, finishing 6th, and were knocked out in the Eliminator stage.
Their defensive unit didn't click, and Naveen could've had better support in the raiding department. Delhi appears to have addressed the latter more, bringing in Meetu Sharma to aid Naveen Kumar and Ashu Malik, and this deadly raiding trio could devastate opponent defenses.
This is the first clash between two quality sides on paper. It'll be interesting to see who comes out on top.
TAM vs DEL Match Details
Match: TAM vs DEL, Pro Kabaddi 2023, Match 3
Date and Time: December 3, 2023; 8:00 pm IST
Venue: The Arena by TransStadia, Ahmedabad.
Live Streaming: Disney+ Hotstar.
TAM vs DEL Probable Playing 7s
Tamil Thalaivas Probable Playing 7
Sagar (C), Sahil Gulia, Ajinkya Pawar, Narender, Mohit, Himanshu Narwal, and M Abhishek/Amirhossein Bastami.
Dabang Delhi KC Probable Playing 7
Naveen Kumar (C), Ashu Malik, Meetu Sharma, Vishal Bhardwaj, Sunil, Balasaheb Jadhav, and Himmat Antil/Vikrant.
TAM vs DEL Dream11 Team Prediction Top Picks, Pro Kabaddi 2023, Match 3
Raider - Narender
It's a toss-up between Narender and Naveen Kumar and in an ideal world you would have both on your team. However, Naveen may have to share his raiding duties a bit more than before, with Ashu and Meetu alongside him, whereas Narender is more of an outright lead raider.
Defender - Sagar
The Tamil Thalaivas captain was one of their best defenders last season, and he'll want to start this one on a good note. He picked up 53 tackle points in only 17 games, and you'd expect a fully fit Sagar to better those numbers with ease, starting with this game.
All-Rounder - Ashu Malik
Ashu Malik is the obvious choice for the all-rounder pick today, and he's pretty much a must-have, considering that he's Delhi's secondary raider and also chips in with some useful tackle points.
TAM vs DEL Match Captain/Vice-Captain Choices
Narender
Naveen Kumar
Sagar
Five Must-Picks for TAM vs DEL, Pro Kabaddi 2023, Match 3
Narender, Naveen Kumar, Sagar, Ashu Malik, and Sahil Gulia.
TAM vs DEL Expert Tips for Pro Kabaddi 2023
The main point of contention in team selection is whether you're selecting Ajinkya Pawar or Meetu Sharma as your third raider alongside Narender and Naveen Kumar. In defense, Vishal Bhardwaj offers a cheaper option to allow you to accommodate all these players in your side, but he's also prone to making many errors.
Dropping Ashu Malik from the all-rounders' slot and picking a defender like M Abhishek or Balasaheb Jadhav is too risky for the Grand League, but could be tried out in a Head-to-Head format.
TAM vs DEL Dream11 Prediction Team, Grand League
Defenders: Vishal Bhardwaj, Sagar, Sahil Gulia.
All-Rounders: Ashu Malik.
Raiders: Naveen Kumar, Ajinkya Pawar, and Narender.
Captain: Narender I Vice-Captain: Naveen Kumar.
TAM vs DEL Dream11 Prediction Team, Head-to-Head League
Defenders: Sunil, Sagar, Sahil Gulia
All-Rounders: Balasaheb Jadhav
Raiders: Naveen Kumar, Narender, Meetu Sharma.
Captain: Naveen Kumar. | Vice-Captain: Sagar.