UP Yoddha
UP Yoddha has continued to disappoint us in PKL 2019. Just when we thought that the UP Yoddha team balance is coming together nicely, they put in a very poor performance against Dabang Delhi K.C. Losing to the best side of the PKL is not a big deal but the manner of the defeat raised some questions.
Monu Goyat scores his first Super-10 but was missing in the crucial stages of the match. Rishank Devadiga is no longer trusted to start in the first seven for UP Yoddha, a decision which we find baffling, to say the least.
Puneri Paltan has a strong defense and UP Yoddha will need its raiding unit to perform at a much higher level than before. Nitesh Kumar and Sumit are going to predictably difficult to get past but defense is not enough to win matches in the PKL.
The format rewards aggression and play-making which is where UP Yoddha has been falling behind this season.
Puneri Paltan
A slight return to form for Nitin Tomar would have raised hopes in the Puneri Paltan camp but they may not have to worry about him at all. Pankaj Mohite is emerging as the best raider for Puneri Paltan and is making his mark as one of the youngsters to watch out for in the future.
With Manjeet also capable of providing points to his side, Puneri Paltan can match the UP Yoddha raiding trio with one of their own.
The real strength of Puneri Paltan has been its defense. Girish Maruti Ernak and Surjeet Singh are two walls for the opposing defense that nothing seems to get past. They are going to attack the out of form UP Yodda raiders and look to take the game to them rather than sit back and wait.
The win against Bengaluru Bulls was an important one for Puneri Paltan. They may still make it into the top-6 if they can get on a bit of a roll
Puneri Paltan holds a 2-1 advantage against UP Yoddha in head to head matches and so there is not much to choose between the sides over the years.
We think Puneri Paltan has the team to be able to pull off an upset against UP Yoddha. Its raiding unit is under-rated but could surprise UP Yoddha, a side which is grappling with multiple problems of its own.
Bet on Puneri Paltan to win.