Pro Kabaddi 2019 playoffs: Swot analysis of Haryana Steelers, U Mumba

All the raiders in Haryana Steelers have made equal contributions. Haryana Steelers are one among three teams to feature four raiders with more than 60-plus raid points at the end of league stage

Eliminator 2 of Pro Kabaddi 2019 will be played between U Mumba (ranked 3) and Haryana Steelers (rank 5) at Eka Arena TranStadia in Ahmedabad on Monday. U Mumba, regarded as a defender-heavy team, will bank on their raiders for a dominating performance today. Abhishek Singh has been the star for the team this season in the raiding department. He scored 135 raid points in the league stage and is among the Top 10 raiders in the tournament. Along with Abhishek, Arjun Deshwal has been a great support in raiding. He has scored an average of 5.0 raid points per match with a Raid strike rate of 53.

On the other hand, Haryana Steelers have not been dependent on only one raider this season. All the raiders in the team have made equal contributions. Haryana Steelers are one among three teams to feature four raiders with more than 60-plus raid points at the end of league stage.
 

Each of the raiders have scored above a raid strike rate of 45 this season and have also scored at least one SUPER 10. Vikas Kandola has been a big factor in the team’s wins. The team is yet to lose a match when Vikas Kandola has scored a SUPER 10.

Here is the SWOT analysis of U Mumba and Haryana Steelers:

U MUMBA

Key Strengths

Skipper Fazel Atrachali standing tall: Fazel Atrachali has been the top defender this season. He has scored 78 tackle points, the most by a defender and his tackle strike rate of 61 is the best among defenders in PKL 2019.

Abhishek Singh’s turnaround as a lead raider: In the first 10 matches, he averaged 5.9 raid points picking up just two SUPER 10s. However, in the last nine matches, he averaged close to 8.4 raid points and picked up six SUPER 10s.

Key weaknesses

Inability to beat teams, who qualified for playoffs: U Mumba have won just two of the 10 matches they have played against the other top six teams this season.

U Mumba’s win record against playoff teams in PKL 2019 | Matches: 10, Won: 2, Lost: 7, Tie: 1

Sandeep Narwal and Surinder Singh’s extremities: Both Sandeep Narwal and Surinder Singh had as many as 9 matches in total where they have scored zero tackle points this season.

Sandeep Narwal in PKL 2019: Number of HIGH 5s: 2, Number of scoreless matches: 4

Surinder Singh in PKL 2019: Number of HIGH 5s: 2, Number of scoreless matches: 5

Left Cover Problem: U Mumba’s only weakness in their defence is the under-performing left cover. Both Harendra Kumar and Young Chang Ko have had close to 70 per cent failed tackles.

Failed Tackle percenatge of U Mumba’s Left Covers: Harendra Kumar – 69 per cent, Young Chang Ko – 74 per cent

HARYANA STEELERS

Key strengths

One of the most complete raiding units: Along with UP Yoddha and Gujarat Fortunegiants, Haryana Steelers are one of only three teams where four raiders have scored at least 60 raid points this season (Vikas Kandola – 178, Vinay – 116, Prashanth Rai – 82, Naveen – 63).

Vikas Kandola’s Impact: Whenever Vikas Kandola has scored a SUPER 10, the team has not lost the match.

Key weaknesses

Prone to too many failed tackles: Haryana’s failed tackle percentage of 63.4 is the 2nd highest among all teams this season. Vikas Kale has a 68 per cent tackle failure rate which is 3rd highest among defenders who have made a minimum of 60 tackles.