Pro Kabaddi 2019: Can Pune's defence stop PKL's top raider Pardeep Narwal?

In Match 92 of Pro Kabaddi 2019, home team Puneri Paltan will lock horns with Pardeep Narwal’s Patna Pirates at Shree Shiv Chhatrapati Sports Complex in Pune on Sunday. Patna Pirates are on a two match winning streak after successive defeats. If Patna manages to secure a win in today’s match, they will move to the ninth position on PKL 2019 points table. On the other hand, Puneri Paltan started their home campaign with a win against Gujarat Fortunegiants on Saturday with Girish Ernak coming back into form with four tackle points. With Jang Kun Lee back in the Patna Pirates line-up it would be interesting to see whether Pune’s defence able to stop Pardeep Narwal, who has been on roll again this season, completing 1,000 raid points in Pro Kabaddi League history.

Check Pro Kabaddi points table and schedule here
 
Puneri Paltan Defence Best In PKL

Puneri Paltan leads the league in average tackle points scored per match. The team is also one of the best at protecting the bonus line. Pune have given the least average bonus points per match.

Highest Avg. Tackle Points - PKL 7			Lowest Avg. Bonus Pts. Conceded - PKL 7
Team	Avg. Tackle Points		Team	Avg. Bonus Pts. Conceded
Puneri Paltan	11.2		Puneri Paltan	2.4
Jaipur Pink Panthers	10.9		Gujarat Fortunegiants	3.3
Haryana Steelers	10.9		Jaipur Pink Panthers	3.5

 

In yesterday’s match against Gujarat Fortunegiants, Paltan scored 18 tackle points in the match. It is the 2nd best defensive performance by a team this season. Pune in their previous meeting against Patna Pirates scored 17 tackle points which is also joint 3rd best defensive performance.
 

Top 2 Defensive Performance – PKL 7
Team	Opponent	Tackle Points
Bengaluru Bulls	Telugu Titans, M#31	19
Puneri Paltan	Gujarat Fortunegiants, M#89	18

 

Puneri Paltan relies on defence for team’s success
 
Puneri Paltan are an unstoppable team when their defence gets going and Pune’s victories this season have been dependent on their defensive performance. Pune’s defence averages 15.6 tackle points per match in victories as compared 9.7 tackle points in other matches. Pune’s tackle SR is also impressive in victories. Pune has a Tackle SR of 57 in wins. But in other matches the team has a tackle SR below 40.

Puneri Paltan Defence - PKL 2019
In Wins		Other Matches
5	Matches	10
15.6	Avg. Tackle Points	9.7
57	Tackle SR	39
15	Avg. Raid Points Conceded	19.1
12.6	Avg. Failed Tackles	16.7

 

Pardeep Narwal’s problems with Puneri Paltan
 
In their first meeting against Puneri Paltan, Pardeep Narwal was kept off-court for 27:20 mins of the match and it is the longest for Pardeep Narwal this season. Pardeep Narwal has been out for the most raids against Puneri Paltan sitting out for 60 raids. Pardeep Narwal this season has an average out raid of 34 and it is most by any raider.

Avg. no. of Raids Off Court in a Match – PKL 7
Raider	Avg. Raids off court
Pardeep Narwal	34
Monu Goyat	32
Rohit Kumar	31

 

Matches Where Pardeep Has Been On the bench > 40 Raids
Match	No. of Raids Out
Vs. Puneri Paltan, M#26	60
Vs. Tamil Thalaivas, M#16	49
Vs. Jaipur Pink Panthers, M#23	48
Vs. Bengaluru Bulls, M#74	48

 

Nitin Tomar starts off home leg with a Super 10

Nitin Tomar has not been able to showcase his raiding skills this season due to his injury. But yesterday against Gujarat Fortunegiants, Nitin Tomar was the best raider for the team scoring his 1st SUPER 10 this season. Nitin Tomar has had a mixed season so far. Nitin Tomar has not been consistent. He had not been able convert the starts into big scoring numbers. But last night might be the start Nitin Tomar was looking for.

Nitin Tomar - PKL 7
	0 - 2 Raid Points	3 - 5 Raid Points	6 - 8 Raid Points	9 and above
No. of Matches	2	2	3	1

WATCH: Puneri Paltan vs Patna Pirates MATCH 26 highlights