The narrow loss against Telugu Titans is expected to haunt Bengal Warriors as they go into their match against leaders U Mumba at the Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose Indoor Stadium in Kolkata.
The Warriors looked the better side throughout the game, but the thrilling finish at the end took away the sheen from the faces of the Warriors fans as they lost to the Titans 32-30.
South Korean Jang Kun Lee showed his class in the match yesterday as the star raider was undoubtedly the man of the moment until the closing stages.
The hosts dominated the proceedings and the South Korean provided a superb three-pointer to end the first half with a 16-10 score. With 12 raid points, Kun Lee hogged the limelight and also got the Best Raider of the Match award.
However, all of the displays by the hosts went in vain in the last minute as Titans skipper Rahul Chaudhary made an outstanding raid and helped his side notch up the win, which was greeted with shock by the capacity crowd present at the Netaji Indoor Stadium.
It will now be very tough for the Kolkata side on Friday, as they go head-to-head against the leaders U Mumba, and the Warriors have to live up to their name, by producing a resurgent performance against the Mumbai side, who look the clear favourites.
U Mumba, owned by UTV Group founder Ronnie Screwvala, are sitting comfortably at the top with the maximum of 20 points garnered from four games so far. The Anup Kumar-led side will be looking to start their Kolkata leg this year with a bang as well, after a dream of a league campaign at home.
Anup and Shabbir Bapu are the key figures for the Mumbai side in the Pro Kabaddi League this year, and the lethal duo are expected to record another impressive performance against the Warriors today.
Mohit Chhillar and Jeeva Kumar are also expected to make a mark in the defence for the Mumbai side.
The Warriors are currently 14 points adrift of the leaders, and they are languishing in fourth position. Nilesh Shinde and Sachin Khambe will have to show their consistency today in defence; so should Kun Lee, who has some unfinished business to take care of.
The match gets underway at 9 pm IST (4:30pm BST).
Previous meeting - 2 August, 2014: Bengal Warriors 29 - 38 U Mumba
Where to Watch Live:
Pro Kabaddi League: Bengal Warriors vs U Mumba, can be caught LIVE on Star Sports.
Hindi Coverage - Star Sports 3, Star Sports HD 3, Star Gold
English Coverage - Star Sports 2, Star Sports HD 2
Telugu Coverage - Maa Movies
Kannada Coverage - Suvarna Plus
Marathi Coverage - Star Pravah (Sunday Matches only)
UK viewers can catch the action on Life OK
Live streaming will be available on Hotstar and starsports online
