UP Yoddha will face Dabang Delhi KC in their penultimate encounter of Pro Kabaddi Season 8’s group stage at the Sheraton Grand, Whitefield in Bengaluru on Monday.
The teams come into this game having faced contrasting fortunes in their most recent encounters. While UP Yoddha registered a 38-31 loss against Gujarat Giants, Dabang Delhi KC won against Tamil Thalaivas 32-31.
Both teams sit in the top-six in the PKL standings, which is the cut off to make it to the playoffs. While Dabang Delhi KC are with 65 points in the second position, UP Yoddha have 58 points and are fifth.
Both teams, however, are yet to cement their places in the playoffs. This encounter will be crucial in determining the same.
Players to watch out for - UP Yoddha
While Surender Gill had a rare dull game in the previous encounter, he still tops the score charts for the team with 170 raid points including eight super 10s this season.
Pardeep Narwal is fast closing in on his teammate and has 146 raid points so far, including three back-to-back super 10s and seven overall in PKL 8.
Sumit became the first defender to touch the 50-point mark for UP Yoddha with 51 tackle points and three high 5s. Captain Nitesh Kumar has 47 tackle points and two high 5s.
Players to watch out for - Dabang Delhi KC
Naveen Kumar currently has the most points for Dabang Delhi KC with 177 raid points in just 13 games at an average of 13.62. Vijay Malik has provided him support, earning 119 raid points on the way.
Manjeet Chillar has headed the defence department with 40 tackle points in PKL 8 so far. Sandeep Narwal sits next with 30 tackle points.
UP Yoddha vs Dabang Delhi KC head-to-head
UP Yoddha and Dabang Delhi KC have locked horns six times in Pro Kabaddi League history. UP Yoddha have got the better of Dabang Delhi KC in four of these encounters and there have been no draws so far.
In their previous encounter against each other, Dabang Delhi KC had imposed a 37-33 win against UP Yoddha. Naveen Kumar had bagged 18 massive raid points to take his team home. Pardeep Narwal and Surender Gill had scored nine raid points each.
Recent form
UP Yoddha - L, W, W, W, L
Dabang Delhi KC - W, T, T, L, W
