Puneri Paltan
Three losses to begin the tournament and the loss of Nitin Tomar for an unknown amount of time seemed to have relegated Puneri Paltan to a string of losses but there is much depth in the PKL that the team has managed to recuperate and find new heroes to call upon.
Girish Maruti Ernak is not a new player and has been a rock for Puneri Paltan for quite some time now. He is phenomenal in leading the defense and ensures that the players are not found wanting at any point in time.
He is being supported commendably by Amit Kumar who has been active in both getting raiding points as well as important tackle points. His current form is one of the chief reasons that Puneri Paltan has started to win matches.
The raiding duties are being carried out by Pawan Kumar Kadian and Pankaj Mohite alongside Amit Kumar to give Pune a pretty decent offensive unit. All facets of Puneri Paltan’s game are going to be tested severely against Dabang Delhi K.C. and they have to be at their best to compete.
Dabang Delhi K.C.
Four wins from five matches is an excellent start for Dabang Delhi K.C. and the team sits deservingly at the top of the table. A week or so back, this match against Puneri Paltan would have been seen as a formality for Delhi but things have changed.
We are sure that Dabang Delhi K.C. will not mistake of taking things easy in this match.
Dabang Delhi K.C. is being led by Naveen Kumar in the raiding department and that is one of their biggest strengths. He has been brilliant so far and figures in the top-3 raiders on the circuit. He is well supported by Chandran Ranjit although the form of Meraj Sheykh, the third raider, has been quite poor.
While the offense was always expected to be good, it is the defense that has caught everyone by surprise. Joginder Singh Narwal, Ravinder Pahal, and Saeid Ghaffari have been brutal in pinning the opposition raiders down.
We like the fact that Delhi has chosen to go for experience in the form of Joginder Singh Narwal and Ravinder Pahal while at the same time allows Iranian Saeid Ghaffari to attack freely as well.
Dabang Delhi has got most things right in the PKL so far and they are going to be hard to stop if they play to their potential.
There have been sixteen matches between Puneri Paltan and Dabang Delhi K.C. in the past. Puneri Paltan has won 8 out of those matches while Dabang Delhi K.C. has won 5. Three matches have ended in a tie.
Dabang Delhi K.C. has a fantastic all-round side and looks very motivated in PKL 2019. Whether they are able to sustain this for the entire duration of the group matches or not remains to be seen but at the moment they are red hot and should be able to win against a relatively inexperienced Puneri Paltan side.
Bet on Dabang Delhi K.C. to win.