PKL: Bengal to play Pune, Gujarat face Bengaluru (Preview)

Bengal Warriors will take on Puneri Paltans while Gujarat Fortunegiants will take on Bengaluru Bulls in the inter zone Pro Kabaddi League (PKL) matches at the Transstadia Arena here on Tuesday.

Both Bengal and Pune start on an even note with 11 points, having clinched two wins out of their three matches.

Bengal are fifth in the Zone B standings while Pune are at the second spot in Zone A.

Bengal will rely heavily on their South Korean heavy weight Jang Kun Lee to trouble the opposition. The Korean raider has accumulated 23 points in his previous matches with help of his height, leg movement and pace inside the opposition half.

Alongside the foreign raider, Maninder Singh who have score 17 points from his raids and two points from tackles will be another key player in the defender Surjeet Singh-led side.

For Pune, captain Deepak Hooda having scored 13 points from his raids in the previous matches will look to improvise on his performance against Bengal as the only hopeful raider for the side until now.

Left and right corner defender Dharmaraj Cheralathan who has managed seven tackle points until the last match will be the key man for the side in defence.

In the other match, Gujarat, who have cemented their place on the top stop of Zone A with 23 points thanks to a three-match winning streak, will look to continue their dominance over Bengaluru who are on the first place of Zone B with 20 points.

The home side have won four out of their six matches where as the Bengaluru outfit has managed only three wins out of their seven matches.

For Gujarat, in-form raiders Sachin, Rohit Gulia along with Iranian defenders Fazel Atrachali and Abozar Mighani will look to combine well once again. Gujarat skipper Sukesh Hegde will also look to play a cameo role for his side helping them add to the points tally.

Skipper Rohit Kumar will be the lone hope for Bengaluru and will aim to continue his excellent raiding form. Kumar has single handedly managed to pick 58 raid points and seven tackle points in his previous matches and will look to produce more of the same against Gujarat.

-- IANS

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