U Mumba will face Puneri Paltan in Match 43 of the Pro Kabaddi League 2016 at the Dome, NSCI SVP Stadium in Mumbai on Wednesday. This encounter is expected to be a thrilling one as both teams are eyeing a spot in the semifinal.
After a promising start to Pro Kabaddi season four, Puneri Paltan have lost momentum. They have not won a single one of their last three matches and currently are in danger of losing their fourth spot in the standings to U Mumba.
U Mumba, who were the champions of the second edition of the Pro Kabaddi League, are placed fifth in the points table. They are just three points adrift of Puneri Paltan and have a very good chance of catching up with their opponents on Wednesday. U Mumba also have a game in their hand.
However, they are coming into this fixture after suffering a heavy defeat to league leaders Patna Pirates (34-24). Meanwhile, Puneri Paltan have not lived up to the expectations after a rollicking start to the tournament. However, with a win, they can go comfortably clear of U Mumba.
Star players Ajay Thakur, Sonu Narwal and Manjeet Chillar will have to be at their best in order to give their side a win against U Mumba on Wednesday. The Paltans need a victory in the Maharashtra derby to regain the momentum that they had lost in the last few matches. One good performance and they can bounce back strongly in this fourth edition of the Pro Kabaddi League.
U Mumba will have the edge over Puneri Paltan when it comes to statistics as the Mumbai franchise have won six out of seven times in the derby.
However, one should not forget that Puneri Paltan had crushed U Mumba 41-19 earlier in the season.
Squads: U Mumba: Jeeva Kumar, Vikas Kale, Sunil Kumar, Manoj Dhull, Surjeet, Rakesh Kumar, Sourav V, Gurvinder Singh, Mohammed Aruduzzaman Munshi, Suresu Kumar, Surendra Singh, Mohammed Zakir Hussain, Tuhin Tarafder, Anup Kumar, Rishank Devadiga, Nitin Kumar, Vikash Kumar.
Puneri Paltan: Ketut Ariana, Gurpreet Singh, Somvir Shekhar, Ravinder Pahal, Joginder Narwal, Khomsan Thongkham, Virender Chhillar; Parmod Narwal, Preetam Chhillar, Manjeet Chhillar, Dalbir, Deepak Niwas Hooda; Ajay Thakur, Sonu Narwal, Jay Bahadur Bohara, Anil Shriram Nimbolkar, Akshay Jadhav.
Where to watch live:
The match between U Mumba and Puneri Paltan will begin at 8 p.m. IST (3:30 p.m. BST).
Hindi Coverage - Star Gold, Star Sports 3, Star Sports HD 3
English Coverage - Star Sports 2, Star Sports HD 2
Telugu Coverage - Maa Movies
Kannada Coverage - Suvarna Plus
U.K. viewers can catch the action on Life OK
Live streaming will be available on Hotstar and Starsports.com
