Jaipur Pink Panthers go up against U Mumba in the Pro Kabaddi League at the Sawai Mansingh Stadium in Jaipur on Thursday.
The Panthers, who play their second game in a row, now lead the points table. A victory against Bengaluru Bulls on Wednesday saw them take the top spot from U Mumba.
These two sides had met earlier in the tournament. On that occasion, the boys from Mumbai came out victorious but a lot has changed since then. Jaipur pulled their socks up after that loss and went on to win seven games in a row.
U Mumba dominated the competition early on and were leaders till Wednesday. However, they have lost their last three games and have slipped to second place. The fact that U Mumba has not been able to arrest this slide would be worrying them.
Another source of worry is that they have been conceding late points, which in the end has caused them to lose matches. Two of the games they lost were very close encounters. In the match against Telugu Titans they lost by a solitary point, and against the Bulls they fell short by three points.
How U Mumba can get back on track after these losses will be interesting to see. Furthermore, they are up against a very fine side in the Panthers. U Mumba desperately need to bolster their defence. In their last game against the Titans, Rahul Chaudhari and Deepak Hudda found them out.
Chaudhari especially was running amok. Given the form that Jaipur's star raider Jasvir Singh is in, if they continue in the same manner U Mumba will be in deep trouble. In attack, they have been good and will be hoping to continue that.
Jaipur, inspired by the home crowd, did well to hold their nerve and register a victory against the Bulls. They did not start the game well though as the defence appeared nervous in the beginning.
The defence cannot afford to be at sea against U Mumba, renowned for its offence, especially the much-feared Anup Kumar. The positive for them is raider Jasvir is continuing the good form he is in. Rajesh Narwal has also given him good support throughout. They will be looking to come good again.
U Mumba will love to lead the points table again, Jaipur are not about to give up the lead easily - a closely-fought contest is on the cards.
Where to Watch Live
U Mumba play Jaipur Pink Panthers at 9:00pm. Star Sports will air the match. Live coverage will comence on Star Sports HD2. This is the link for the live streaming option on starsports.com.
Bihar bypolls saw a 42.27 percent turn out till 4pm on Thursday, and the suspense is increasing as the result will decide the fate of the RJD-JD(U) alliance, which has been challenged by Prime Minister Narendra Modi-led BJP.
The byelections took place in 10 districts - Hajipur, Chapra, Mohiuddinagar, Parbatta, Bhagalpur, Rajnagar(SC), Jale, Mohania (SC), Narkatiaganj and Banka - with a total of 94 candidates contesting the 10 assembly seats.
Although the state government assured to get the people, stuck in flood-affected areas, to reach polling stations through boats, the election turn out was reportedly lower than expected but was peaceful, according to India Today.
As it is the first poll after the 2014 Lok Sabha elections, everyone is keen on the result as it will decide whether Modi's influence in the state still exists or the Lalu Prasad Yadav's RJD and Nitish Kumar's JD(U) alliance has blown it away.
However, despite Nitish's contribution to the state's development from nothing to something during his reign, there are speculations that his alliance with Lalu will affect his chances of winning.
Nitish joined hands with Lalu to prevent Modi's alleged communal forces from entering Bihar but Lalu's reign in the state has not been appreciated much by the people.
Opinion polls are said to have predicted this bypoll to be a "tight contest", with chances of both BJP and JD(U)-RJD alliance getting even results.
"We're all taking it seriously because perception matters in politics. But as things stand, the results will not be a referendum on the complexion of the next Assembly in Bihar. Things will be different. The novelty here is that Lalu and Nitish have come together and everyone is watching this alliance with interest," the BusinessLine quoted a JD(U) leader.
In the absence of any certainty, it will be interesting to see if BJP succeeds in uprooting Nitish's political roots from the state, or the JD(U)-RJD alliance will sweep away Modi's influence and celebrate their alliance.
The bypolls are also expected to give a hint on how the assembly elections of 2015 will do.
