Haryana Steelers
The Haryana Steelers have struggled to have the kind of impact they wanted to in PKL 5. Letting Monu Goyat go was a big step for them and they thought that the addition of Prashanth Kumar Rai would help balance things out.
Instead, it has been Naveen who has been playing well for the Haryana Steelers as their lead raider so far. He must start receiving some support very soon, though, because at the moment he is not good enough to be winning matches on his own.
Having Dharmraj Cherlathan in the defense is a big win for any team. He is one of the most experienced defenders in the PKL and is able to lift the entire defensive unit around him. He has been pretty subdued so far and has, in fact, made some basic errors.
Kuldeep Singh is the de-facto leader of the defense as far as we are concerned and will be the biggest threat to the Tamil Thalaivas.
The Haryana Steelers probably know that don’t have the team to top the group stages but they can make it into the top-6 and that is what they must be aiming for.
Tamil Thalaivas
The Tamil Thalaivas are a bit unlucky to be in the position they are in on the league table. They won their first match against the Telugu Titans with ease and then lost their next two matches by just one point. An error from Manjeet CHillar cost them the match against Dabang Delhi K.C. and it is things like these that could cost them very heavily at the end of the tournament.
Manjeet Chillar has been in fantastic form and is leading the team in tackle points. He will know that the Haryana Steelers do not have the kind of offense that is going to threaten him and should be raring to go.
The raiding duties have been shared by Rahul Chaudhari and Ajay Thakur so far with Chaudhari emerging as the lead raider for the side in these early matches.
We have no doubt that Ajay Thakur will also want to raise his game in the matches to come.
The Tamil Thalaivas is a very well-rounded side with match-winners on the defensive as well as offensive ends of the mat. This is a match they will be targeting to win for sure.
There have been three matches between these two teams in the past and neither has seen one side emerge victorious even once. That’s right. The previous three matches between the two sides have ended in a tie.
We think the Tamil Thalaivas are easily the better side in all aspects of the game and should be able to win this easily.
Bet on the Tamil Thalaivas to win.