PKL 2021: Bengaluru Bulls v/s Puneri Paltan - Preview, Expected 7, Live streaming, Players to Watch out, Head to head, Key battle

The fixture was originally scheduled between Patna Pirates and Puneri Paltan. But the PKL organisers rescheduled the match at the last moment and replaced Patna Pirates with Bengaluru Bulls.

The Bulls' previous encounter with the defending champions Bengal Warriors was also an eleventh-hour decision by Mashal Sports due to the unavailability of Patna Pirates. So let's have a look at the detailed preview of this electrifying contest in match number 70 of the season eight campaign.

Strategic Takeaways

Despite the mass destruction from Iranian Mohammad Nabibakhsh in a single raid, Bengaluru displayed a great fightback. Coach Randhir Singh Sehrawat must be proud of his boys as the Bulls lost the battle by a mere difference of one point. Puneri Paltan's young raiders continue to impress but their defensive department seems off-road once again. Two consecutive defeats may force coach Anup Kumar to make a few changes in the core.

Head to Head

A thumping victory on the scoreline of 40-29 brought the Karnataka-based franchise closure to Pune in the head-to-head count. Captain Pawan Kumar Sehrawat has the golden opportunity to level the record against neighbourhood rivals. The Red Army also broke Pune's three-match winning streak against them in their previous face-off.

Overall H2H record:

13 - Matches

7 - Puneri Paltan

6 - Bengaluru Bulls

0 - Tie

When to watch?

Bengaluru Bulls will be up against the Paltan from the cultural land of Pune on the 32nd matchday of PKL season eight. The battle between these two counterparties will be aired live at 7:30 PM on the 22nd of January 2022.

Live Streaming

All the matches are expected to be broadcast on the Star Sports Network and Disney+Hotstar platform. You can also tune in to The Bridge for live updates about the action.

Expected 7

Bengaluru Bulls:

Pawan Kumar Sehrawat (Raider)

Chandran Ranjit (Raider)

Mohit Sehrawat (All-rounder)

Mahender Singh (Left Cover)

Ankit Malik (Right Cover)

Amit Sheoran (Left Corner)

Saurabh Nandal (Right Corner)

Squad: Pawan Kumar Sehrawat (C), Mahender Singh (VC), Chandran Ranjit, Bharat Hooda, Deepak Narwal, GB More, Abolfazl Mghsodlou, Dong Geon Lee, Rohit Sangwan, Naseeb, Amit Sheoran, Saurabh Nandal, Ziaur Rahman, Mayur Kadam, Mohit Sehrawat, Ankit, Vikas, Rohit Kumar, Aman Antil

Puneri Paltan:

Mohit Goyat (Raider)

Nitin Tomar (Raider)

Aslam Inamdar (Raider)

Sanket Sawant (Left Cover)

Abinesh Nadarajan (Right Cover)

Vishal Bharadwaj (Left Corner)

Baldev Singh (Right Corner)

Squad: Nitin Tomar (C), Vishal Bharadwaj (VC), Rahul Chaudhari, Pankaj Mohite, Pawan Kadian, Mohit Goyat, Akash Shinde, Shubham Shelke, Vishwas S, Aslam Inamdar, Govind Gurjar, Victor Obiero, E Subhash, Baldev Singh, Balasaheb Jadhav, Sanket Sawant, Hadi Tajik, Sombir Gulia, Karanvir, Abinesh Nadarajan, Sourav Kumar

Players to Watch out For

Pawan Kumar Sehrawat (Bengaluru Bulls)

Nitin Tomar (Puneri Paltan)

Vishal Bharadwaj (Puneri Paltan)

Chandran Ranjit (Bengaluru Bulls)

Aslam Inamdar (Puneri Paltan)

Key Battle

Pawan Kumar Sehrawat v/s Vishal Bharadwaj

Expect a high-voltage contest between Bengaluru captain and Puneri Paltan vice-captain. In their recent face-off, Pawan Kumar Sehrawat claimed Super 10 while Vishal Bharadwaj missed his well-deserved High 5 by just one tackle point. Pawan's scoring timeline against Puneri Paltan from his last five encounters is 11, 5, 13, 6 and 4. On the other hand, Vishal's numbers against Bengaluru Bulls are also incredible.

Vishal Bharadwaj's record against Bengaluru Bulls:

9 - Matches

28 - Tackle points

4 - Raid points

2 - High 5s

3.6 - Average points per match

7 - Highest points in a match