<h3>U Mumba<h3>
There was a lot of concern about U Mumba is going to hold up with the departure of Siddharth Desai. On the evidence of what Siddharth Desai has been able to do so far and how U Mumba has performed, they are going to be just fine.
The defense of U Muma was always the backbone around which its PKL success was built. With Fazel Atrachali, Surender Singh, and Sandeep Narwal now added to the side, U Mumba’s defense is stronger than ever.
They absolutely crushed the Telugu Titans with immaculate defense and are going to be very hard to get past in this match as well.
Abhishek Singh spent much of last season the bench and in the shadow of Siddharth Desai. Now that he has been given his chance to lead the U Mumba offense, he seems to be up for the challenge.
His speed, technique, and agility were on display against the Telugu Titans. He also showed a lot of mat awareness and was able to draw mistakes from the defenders. These are good signs for U Mumba moving forward.
<h3>Jaipur Pink Panthers<h3>
The Jaipur Pink Panthers found their feet a bit late in the previous season. They were quite adamant to give Anup Kumar a fitting farewell but that did not work out. Now, they have handed over the reigns of the team to Deepak Niwas Hooda, a very promising all-rounder who has turned into the team’s lead raider.
Deepak Niwas Hooda is going to face one of his toughest opponents early in the PKL. His battle against the U Muma defense is going to be what decides the outcome of the match. It is not all about him though.
Ajinkya Pawar is a very promising youngster who made waves in the previous season. If he can find a way to take his game to the next level then he will take a lot of pressure off of Deep Niwas Hooda.
Amit Hooda and Sandeep Dhull will be manning the corners for the Pink Panthers defense and that is a pretty formidable combination. The Jaipur Pink Panthers are a pretty good side and one that can trip up more vaunted opponents on their day.
Ajinkya Pawar had 71 raid points to his name in season six of the Pro Kabaddi League. He may not get at the attention that Deepak Hooda does but he is going to test U Mumba’s defense as well.
Abhishek Singh scored a Super-10 in the first match and we have a feeling he is going to be racking up those numbers on a consistent basis this season.
U Mumba looks to be the clear favorite in this match and deservedly so. They have absorbed the loss of Siddharth Desai in their stride and in fact come back stronger. The U Mumba defense should be able to keep the young offensive challenge of the Jaipur Pink Panthers at bay.
Bet on U Mumba to win.