Bengaluru Bulls
It took another brilliant performance from Pawan Kumar Sehrawat against the Patna Pirates to get the Bengaluru Bulls over the lie. It is not something that would have made the home side proud because apart from Pawan Kumar Sehrawat everyone else was hopeless on the night.
Rohit Kumar was raiding without any real effort to make a point and the defense was picking him off with ease. He cannot just depend on Pawan Kumar Sehrawat to do the job against the best defense in PKL 2019.
The Bengaluru Bulls defense is in better shape and will be coming aggressively against Siddharth Desai. Mahender Singh, Amit SHeroan, Saurabh Nandal, and Mohit Sehrawat are all very good together. The emergence of Saurabh Nandal has plugged any holes that were there in the Bengaluru Bulls defense.
We are still skeptical about the defending champions because they are too dependent on Pawan Kumar Sehrawat. If he cannot find a way past the Telugu Titans then the Bulls may be well short of what is needed to win.
Telugu Titans
Vishal Bhardwaj is having the PKL season of his life. He is in brilliant form and currently has the most tackle points, highest average tackle points per game, and an insanely high strike rate on the mat. He has led the defense from the front and is well supported by Abozar Mohajermighani on the other corner as well.
The pivotal battle in this match is going to be between Vishal Bhardwaj and Pawan Kumar Sehrawat. If the Telugu Titans can shut Sehrawat down, as we believe they can, then the game is there for the taking. Pawan Kumar Sehrawat has been vulnerable to aggressive tactics from the defense in previous matches and that is exactly what the Telugu Titans bring to the table.
Of course, Siddharth Desai will have to provide the bulk of the raid points as well. He has been well supported by Farhad Milagharden and will be hoping for the same against the Telugu Titans. We have seen a changed Siddharth Desai this season, one that is content to take bonus points when available and not look for the hero Super Raids. Perhaps his injury or poor form at the beginning of the PKL has something to do with it but the Titans need to see the old Siddharth Desai on the mat now!
The Bengaluru Bulls have a massive 10-3 advantage over the Telugu Titans in head to head encounters. An additional three matches have been tied between them as well.
We think the Telugu Titans defense is going to be able to keep Pawan Kumar Sehrawat in check while Siddharth Desai should be able to provide the necessary raid points needed to win.
Bet on the Telugu Titans to win.