U Mumba
Inconsistency has been U Mumba’s hallmark in this tournament so far. The side has failed to win two consecutive matches so far and seems to show glimpses of improvement only to make the same mistakes all over again.
U Mumba managed to get past the Patna Pirates in the previous match thanks to some excellent performances by Rohit Baliyan and Athul MS. It looks like Abhishek Singh is going to be missing for U Mumba for some time now and it may not be a bad thing.
Athul MS is an experienced raider and was clearly hungry for some game time in the previous match. He is going to have to be at his best against an excellent Haryana Steelers defense, though.
U Mumba’s own defense is very strong although ‘the Sultan’ Fazel Atrachali may want to step things up a bit. Surinder Singh has been fantastic in PKL 2019 and he is going to be the main threat against Vikash Kandola.
U Mumba must find a way to be better in the raiding department and more consistent in the defense.
Haryana Steelers
The Haryana Steelers had won three games on the trot before coming up against the Telugu Titans but it was their bad luck to see a resurgent Siddharth Desai opposing them. Vikash Kandola scored nine raid points and tried his best to keep the Haryana Steelers in the game but he did not have any support.
Vikash Kandola is going to be the lead raider in this match and will have a lot of responsibility on him to try and find a way past U Mumba but the other raiders must step up as well. Vinay and Prashanth Kumar Rai are going to feel the pressure on them to start delivering more consistently.
The Haryana Steelers defense has been excellent in recent matches and that is why we feel the previous encounter may have been an aberration. Needless mistakes from the defense, including experienced campaigners like Dharmraj Cheralathan, gave the Telugu Titans too many openings.
The Haryana Steelers cannot afford to do the same against U Mumba otherwise they are going to face another defeat for sure.
U Mumba holds a 4-2 advantage over the Haryana Steelers in previous encounters. A lot of U Mumba’s historical advantages in rivalries have not proven to be for much, though, in PKL 2019.
We think the Haryana Steelers are going to come back stronger after their slip-up in the previous match. The manner in which Vikash Kandola is playing makes them very dangerous. The fact that Fazel Atrachalai has struggled for his best form is also a big factor.
Bet on the Haryana Steelers to win.