All is not lost yet for Bengal, the defending champions. On the other hand, Puneri are hanging off the cliff by their fingernails. When they meet in Match 43 of the Indian Kabaddi League at the Sheraton Grand Whitefield in Bengaluru on 9th January, Puneri know that a defeat here will spell the end of their play-off hopes for another season. A victory will lift Bengal back into the contention, but a defeat will cripple their title defence.
The simple truth is that Bengal haven’t been good enough. Maninder Singh has excelled on the raiding front, and Mohammad Nabibakhsh has offered a superb all-round option, but the rest haven’t performed at those levels. The team doesn’t make enough successful tackles, and the contribution from the third raider hasn’t been anywhere near enough.
Puneri looked to have turned their season around with a victory over Gujarat, but the loss to Jaipur leaves them with no option but to win every remaining game. They are rock bottom when it comes to average raid points, and the efforts of the defenders haven’t been enough to cover for that lack of attacking threat.
Bengal won both their matches in the 2019 season, making them the favorites to further extend their head-to-head advantage in this rivalry. For both, the stakes couldn’t be any higher.
Match Details
- Game: Puneri vs. Bengal, Match 43
- Venue: Sheraton Grand Whitefield, Bengaluru
- Date & Time: Jan. 09, 2021, at 7:30 PM IST
Probable Playing 7
Puneri
Aslam Inamdar, Abinesh Nadarajan, Sanket Sawant, Pankaj Mohite, Mohit Goyat, Baldev Singh, Vishal Bharadwaj (C).
Bengal
Maninder Singh (C), Darshan J, Amit Nirwal, Sukesh Hegde, Mohammad Nabibakhsh, Abozar Mighani, Sachin Vittala
Head-to-Head Record
Over the past 7 seasons, this has been one of the more evenly matched contests in the league. But while Bengal won their first title in 2019, Puneri haven’t come close to winning the competition.
| Matches | Pune Won | Bengal Won | Draws |
| 14 | 6 | 7 | 1 |
Previous Season Results
Maninder Singh’s 14 points were the highlight of a crushing 20-point win for Bengal in their first encounter with Puneri in the 2019 season. No one for Puneri even topped 6 points. They did far better in the return match, keeping pace with the eventual champions until a couple of late scores from Mohammad Nabibaksh, the Iranian who scored his 50th raid points in the league that night.
- Match 17: Bengal 43 – 23 Puneri
- Match 81: Bengal 42 – 39 Puneri
Top Fantasy Picks
Defender
- Vishal Bharadwaj has tried to pull his teammates along even while being some distance off his very best. He averages 2.14 successful tackles a game, and will need to be fully switched on to contain the threat posed by Bengal’s raiders.
All-rounder
- Mohammad Nabibakhsh has a raid strike-rate of 56, a tackle strike-rate of 62, and 45 overall points. When he is at his best, Bengal are hard to beat. For the opposition teams, it’s a simple formula to understand, and a hard one to execute.
Raider
- Maninder Singh is averaging more than 14 points a game, which is quite remarkable when you consider the lack of raiding depth in the Bengal squad. Teams know that they just have to stop him but they haven’t been able to do so. Even in the last loss to Haryana, Maninder scored 14 points.
Howzat Dream Team
- Defenders: Amit Nirwal, Abinesh Nadarajan, Vishal Bharadwaj
- All-rounders: Mohammad Nabibakhsh, Aslam Inamdar
- Raiders: Maninder Singh, Mohit Goyat
- Captain: Maninder Singh/Aslam Inamdar
- Vice Captain: Mohit Goyat/Mohammad Nabibakhsh
NOTE: The Howzat dream team above is just a suggestion. You can select your own team from today’s fantasy kabaddi prediction and play all the upcoming matches of India Kabaddi League. Also, don’t forget to make any necessary changes to your team once the actual playing 7 is announced by each team as some players you have selected might not be part of the team suggested.
Know fantasy kabaddi rules and play on your favorite fantasy gaming app and select your own team, Howzat!
