PKL 10: UP Yoddhas hope to return to winning ways against U Mumba

NEW DELHI: UP Yoddhas are aiming for a turnaround in their campaign as they seek to return to winning ways in their reverse fixture against U Mumba in Match 102 of Pro Kabaddi League (PKL) Season 10 at the Thyagaraj Indoor Stadium here on Saturday.

The two teams faced each other on the opening day of the ongoing season where the Yoddhas closely missed out on a victory, losing 31-34. The Yoddhas are currently winless in their last eight matches and are sitting at 11th in the points table with 23 points and a score difference of -63.

The UP Yoddhas, the GMR Group-owned franchise, went down 36-27 against Dabang Delhi K.C. in their previous match. On the other hand, U Mumba also lost their last match against Tamil Thalaivas, going down 34-50.

The Mumbai franchisee will be desperate for a win on Saturday as they too have been winless in their previous eight games and are currently placed in 9th position with 40 points and a score difference of -19.

UP Yoddhas and U Mumba have faced each other 11 times across all seasons of PKL. The contest has stayed neck-to-neck as both teams have defeated the other on five occasions, with one match ending in a tie.

Speaking before the match, UP Yoddhas head coach Jasvir Singh said, “We have to give our best to stay alive in the tournament. Winning all our remaining matches is the only way to go. Our young raiders have shown promise in the last couple of games but as a team, we need to come out stronger as we can’t afford any mistakes now.”

The absence of Surender Gill due to injury added heaps of pressure in the raiding department on the shoulders of captain Pardeep Narwal, who has displayed some shades of his greatness, picking up 122 raid points in 99 successful raids, as he features in the top 10 lists of most raid points and most successful raids in the tournament.

In defense, Sumit is leading the chart for the Yoddhas with 51 tackle points in the tournament so far. He has been well supported by Nitesh Kumar and Gurdeep, who have earned 34 and 28 tackle points respectively. All-rounder Vijay Mallik has been vital in both the departments, picking up 47 total points in the tournament.

For U Mumba, their star raider Guman Singh will be the force to reckon with, as he currently features in the top three in the list of most raid points and most successful raids in the tournament with 151 raid points in 120 successful raids.

He is well assisted by all-rounder Amirmohammad Zafardanesh who has picked up 116 raid points so far. In defense, the pair of Surinder Singh and Rinku will look to be at their best in the upcoming clash against the Yoddhas.