UP Yoddha will start the New Year against former champions U Mumba in their Pro Kabaddi Season 8 match at the Sheraton Grand, Whitefield in Bengaluru on Saturday.
Both teams have played four matches so far this season. With just one win in the books, UP Yoddha are in the eighth position with 10 points in the PKL standings. U Mumba, meanwhile, are third with 14 points in four matches.
In their last match, UP Yoddha tied 32-all against the Gujarat Giants, while U Mumba scripted a 37-28 win against Jaipur Pink Panthers, for their second win of Pro Kabaddi Season 8.
Players to watch out for - UP Yoddha
Despite under par performances in two outings, Pardeep Narwal has scored 34 raid points in four matches so far. His career raid average stands at 10.76 while this season, it’s at 8.5, suggesting there’s more to come. Pardeep, promisingly, scored a super 10 last time out and is the top raider of the team.
In the defence, the Sumit-Nitesh Kumar corner combination helped UP Yoddha bring four successful tackles in the last game alone. Sumit, in fact, has been the team’s top defender this season with 11 tackle points in four matches. Ashu Singh isn’t too far behind with nine.
Surender Gill, who scored four raid points and effected a super tackle against Gujarat Giants, has been a headlining act for the Yoddha this season. He is also the team’s best raider after Pardeep Narwal, managing 22 raid points so far.
Players to watch out for - U Mumba
Ajith Kumar (39 raid points) and Abhishek Singh (36 raid points) have been U Mumba’s top raiders so far this season. Both scored a super 10 each in their last match against Jaipur Pink Panthers.
Rinku and Harendra Kumar have been the leading defenders for U Mumba in PKL 8 so far. Captain Fazel Atrachali is trailing the duo with just five tackle points in four matches. However, the powerful Iranian did manage to score three points against the Panthers last time out.
U Mumbai vs UP Yoddha head-to-head
UP Yoddha and U Mumba have played each other six times in the Pro Kabaddi League with both teams winning three matches each.
The last time they faced each other in Season 7, U Mumba won the match 39-36.
Recent form in Pro Kabaddi Season 8
U Mumba: W, T, L, W
UP Yoddha: T, L, W, L
