Bengal Warriors and Telugu Titans go up against each other in the Star Sports Pro Kabaddi League at the Kankarbagh Indoor stadium in Patna on Friday.
Nor Bengal Warriors neither the Telugu Titans can claim to be the outright favourite going into the game. The boys from Bengal would be desperate to improve their position in the league as they are in sixth place with only a couple of wins from six games.
The Titans are in the same boat too as they are a spot below the Warriors, but have two games in hand. A win might provide both sides the much-needed impetus they need to climb up the table.
The Warriors who were doing well with two wins on the trot against Dabang Delhi in their hometown Kolkata found themselves on the losing side in the last two games. The Warriors lost a closely-contested match against the boys from Mumbai. Conceding a ten point lead in the first half hurt the Warriors. Later, they had to play catch-up mostly and did not have enough left in the tank.
The Warriors in their game against Delhi would have fancied their chances, but were caught unawares as the Delhi side went on the attack right from the beginning and took a sizable 16 point lead in the first half. As was the case in the U Mumba game, the Warriors were left with a little too much to do in the second half and eventually lost.
Giving away a huge lead early on cost the Warriors in both the games, they need to bolster their defence. They would depend a lot on the attacking skills of Jang Kun Lee as striking early would be more than handy.
The Titans would be slightly more confident than the Bengal side as they won their last game. In this encounter they held off a late charge from Dabang Delhi. Defensively, they still have problems to sort out. In the Delhi game they had a good lead, but in the closing stages they held on to that by a thread.
While attacking they displayed prime form especially Rahul Chaudhari. This would hold them in good stead in the game against the Warriors. Furthermore they mounted attacks early on and this paid dividends for them. Deepak Nivas Hudda gave him excellent support. The offense is the key for the Titans. If they improve their defence they would look very dangerous.
Both sides desperate, for a win would go hard at each other, a tight contest lies ahead.
Where to Watch Live:
Bengal Warriors play the Telugu Titans at 8 pm. Star Sports will air the match. Live coverage will comence on Star Sports HD 2 from 7:45 pm. This is the link for the live streaming option on starsports.com.
