With the Pro Kabaddi action moving on to its next destination, the city of Chennai, the first match will see the home team, Tamil Thalaivas taking the battle to the mat against the Puneri Paltan at the Jawaharlal Nehru Indoor Stadium.
The Tamil Thalaivas will be high on confidence given their last two thrilling wins against the Gujarat Fortunegiants and the Bengal Warriors. Puneri Paltan, on the other hand, is on a three-match winning streak and will like to continue in the same fashion in the match tonight as well.
The Thalaivas have been riding on the heroic efforts of their talismanic skipper, Ajay Thakur who has lit the mat on fire with some spectacular raids in the dying minutes of the recent fixtures to clinch the all-important wins for his team.
He is assisted in his strides by the likes of Prapanjan, who picked up 9 points in the last match against Gujarat and D. Pradap, playing in the capacity of an all-rounder. The defence is manned by the very menacing Amit Hooda who guards the corner position in tandem with the experienced C. Arun. However, the rest of the squad which includes Darshan, Vineet Kumar, Vijin Thangadurai and Sanket Chavan need to buck up and contribute to the scoreline in a greater manner especially with regards to the tackle attempts.
Puneri Paltan is one of the teams, well poised to make it to the playoffs given their pretty much consistent run so far in the tournament. Their main asset in the presence of two stalwart all-rounders, skipper Deepak Hooda and Sandeep Narwal, both of whom have the ability to completely leave the opposition hapless with their raids as well as tackles.
The defence also boasts of powerhouses on the likes of veteran Dharmaraj Cheralathan and Girish Ernak who have been absolutely lethal with their moves, operating alongside young gun Monu and Bangladeshi recruit, Ziaur Rehman. To complete the starting seven, Rajesh Mondal, the do-or-die specialist is included in the scheme of things in order to bail the team out of the pressure situations.
Tamil Thalaivas vs Puneri Paltan match prediction
Puneri Paltan could be well on course for the fourth win in a row if they succeed in keeping Ajay Thakur and Prapanjan out of bounds for the maximum amount of time. If they fail to do so, the match is likely to go down to the wire, with the Thalaivas known for staging a stronger style of play in the second half of the match.