In the penultimate match of the Chennai leg of the Pro Kabaddi League Season 5, the Tamil Thalaivas will clash against the Bengaluru Bulls in yet another South Indian derby at the Jawaharlal Nehru Indoor Stadium.
The Tamil Thalaivas have recorded five losses in their five matches at home so far and will be desperate to end the home leg with a win, the Bengaluru Bulls are coming into this encounter on the back of a loss against U Mumba.
The Thalaivas looked like an improved side last night against the UP Yoddha as compared to their performance against the Telugu Titans. Ajay Thakur notched up yet another Super-10 to take his tally up to 8 in this season. Prapanjan also came to the fore, contributing to the scoreline with 11 points of his own.
However, the defence was still under par with just 6 tackle points coming in from the likes of Darshan, Vineet and Muruthu combined. Amit Hooda has to buck up in a major manner if the team wants to cross the finish line in this last home fixture and tame the Bulls, which will be led by Rohit Kumar.
The Bengaluru Bulls, on the other hand, are coming off a long break and will be on the hunt for a win against the Thalaivas, who have lacked sheen and confidence in their home leg. Ajay and Rohit Kumar will spearhead the attack for the team by fetching more points off the relatively weaker rival defence.
Their own defence will be manned by the experienced Ravinder Pahal in the corner position who will be assisted by the young duo of Mahender Singh and Kuldeep Singh, both of whom have been quite impressive in the season. To complete the starting seven, all-rounders, Ashish Kumar and Sunil Jaipal will be included in the scheme of things given their consistency and mixed prowess to perform on either end of the mat.
Tamil Thalaivas vs Bengaluru Bulls match prediction
Given the poor run of the Tamil Thalaivas, the match looks well poised to end in the favour of the Bulls if they manage to hold fort against the likes of Ajay Thakur and Prapanjan. This is because, if their scoring is halted from one end, the Bulls' attack featuring Rohit and Ajay will definitely get in the points from the rival defence which has been off-colour and easy to penetrate.