PKL 2019, Match 10 preview: Can Nitesh Kumar bring UP Yoddha back to life?

Head to head, Gujarat Fortunegiants have a phenomenal record against UP Yoddhas as they have won 2 out of 3 matches. One match ended in a tie

On Day 6 of VIVO Pro Kabaddi League, PKL 2019, UP Yoddha take on Gujarat Fortunegiants in match 10 at the Gachibowli Indoor Stadium in Hyderabad on Friday. Fortunegiants will play their second match of Pro Kabaddi 2019 and look to continue with their domination. Meanwhile, UP Yoddha had a dismal start to their PKL 2019 season after they failed to grab crucial raid points. In PKL 6, UP Yoddha had the raiding trio of Prashanth Kumar Rai, Rishank Devadiga and Shrikant Jadhav. In PKL 7 they have replaced Prashanth with Monu Goyat. Last year’s star defender Nitesh failed to impress in UP Yoddha’s first outing and looks set to bring the spark back into his team’s defensive unit.

Check Pro Kabaddi schedule and points table here
 
Player battle: UP’s Nitesh vs Gujarat’s cover combination

Nitesh Kumar need to lead from front

Due to his phenomenal showing in PKL 6, Nitesh Kumar has been handed the captaincy for PKL 7, taking over from Rishank Devadiga. Nitesh Kumar was the best defender of PKL 6 as he scored 100 tackle points for the season and is the only player to do so in PKL history. Nitesh Kumar also had an amazing tackle point average of 4 in PKL 6, the best among all defenders in PKL 6 with a minimum of 30 tackle points. However, he has not had the best start as his team was demolished by Bengal Warriors in their opening match of PKL 7. In this match, UP ended up scoring just 17 points, their lowest ever in PKL.

Highest Average Tackle Points – PKL 6 (minimum 30 tackle pts.)
Defender	Avg. Tackle Pts.
Nitesh Kumar	4.0
Fazel Atrachali	3.6
Vishal Bhardwaj	3.5

 

The best cover combo in the league: Sunil-Parvesh

Sunil and Parvesh were in the top 4 defenders in PKL 2019 with the most tackle points. Gujarat’s cover pair of Sunil and Parvesh is the best in Pro Kabaddi and they had the most tackle points as a pair in PKL 6. They started Pro Kabaddi 2019 in an impressive fashion with a brilliant show against defending champions Bengaluru Bulls. The last year's runner-ups have scored 17 tackle points in the match (their joint-best in PKL), they comprehensively beat the Bulls by 18 points in their 42-24 win. Gujarat’s defensive performance restricted Bulls only to 9 successful raids out of a total of 39 raids. Captain Sunil Kumar led from the front and scored a High 5 in the match. He also had an excellent Tackle strike rate of 86.

Most Pair Tackles – PKL 6
Pair Name	Tackle Points	Super Tackle
Parvesh Bhainswal-Sunil Kumar	77	3
Fazel Atrachali-Surinder Singh	58	2
Jeeva Kumar-Nitesh Kumar	47	2

 

 UP Yoddha vs Gujarat Fortunegiants head to head
 
Gujarat Fortunegiants have a phenomenal record against UP Yoddha as they have won 2 out of 3 matchs. One match ended in a tie. UP Yoddha are yet to win a game against Gujarat Fortunegiants in Pro Kabaddi.
 

Match No.	UP Yoddha	Gujarat Fortunegiants	Result
PKL 6, Qualifie 2	31	38	Gujarat won by 7 points
PKL 6, Match 71	32	37	Gujarat won by 5 points
PKL 5, Match 68	30	30	Match Tied

 

UP Yoddha vs Gujarat Fortunegiants probable seven

UP Yoddha	Vs	Gujarat Fortunegiants
Nitesh Kumar©	Right Corner	Ankit
Monu Goyat	Right In	More GB
Narender	Right Cover	Sunil Kumar ©
Shrikant Jadhav	Center	Sachin
Amit	Left Cover	Parvesh Bhainswal
Surender Singh	Left In	Rohit Gulia
Sachin Kumar	Left Corner	Sumit