Kabaddi
PKL 2021: Gujarat Giants v/s Patna Pirates – Preview, Expected 7, Live Streaming, Players to Watch out, Head to Head, Key Battle
All you need to know about match 42 of PKL 2021 between Gujarat Giants and Patna Pirates.
Sunil Malik and Mohammadreza Chiyaneh
The Gujarat Giants and Patna Pirates are on the two opposite ends of the PKL 2021 spectrum currently. While the Pirates seem to have found their ideal starting 7, the struggles of the famed Giants defence means that they are yet to gain a winning momentum.
Strategic Takeaways
The Patna Pirates have been functioning like a well-oiled unit with contributions from each player. While their raiding department was questioned in the absence of Pardeep Narwal, the trio of Prashanth, Monu and Sachin have done well to shut the critics up.
The Giants, on the other hand, have been struggling badly due to the failure of their defensive unit. Considered to be one of the strongest defensive units this season, the Giants defenders have flopped badly so far. They did replace their captain Sunil Malik with Ravinder Pahal ahead of their last encounter, but things did not quite work well as they fell to yet another loss and Pahal walked away in the middle of the match owing to an injury.
Head to Head
The Giants have a massive advantage over the Patna Pirates when it comes to head to head encounters. But, one of Patna's only two wins over the Gujarat-based franchise came in the final of PKL 2017.
Overall H2H
Total Matches Played – 7
Won by Gujarat Giants – 5
Won by Patna Pirates – 2
Tied - 0
When to Watch?
The third match of the day between Gujarat Giants and Patna Pirates is expected to begin at 9:30 PM IST at the Sheraton Grand Bengaluru Whitefield Hotel and Convention Centre on 8th January 2022.
Live Streaming
All the matches are expected to be broadcast on Star Sports Network on Television. You can also tune in to Disney+Hotstar for the LIVE Streaming.
Expected 7
Gujarat Giants
Rakesh Narwal (Raider)
Rakesh (Raider)
Ajay Kumar (Raider)
Parvesh Bhainswal (Left Cover)
Sunil Malik (Right Cover)
Girish Ernak (Left Corner)
Ravinder Pahal (Captain) (Right Corner)
Patna Pirates
Prashanth Kumar Rai (Captain) (Raider)
Sachin Tanwar (Raider)
Monu Goyat (Raider)
Neeraj (Right cover)
Sajin C (Left cover)
Mohammadreza Shadloui (Left corner)
Sunil (Right corner)
Players to Watch Out
Rakesh (Gujarat Giants)
Rakesh Narwal (Gujarat Giants)
Mohammadreza Chiyaneh (Patna Pirates)
Monu Goyat (Patna Pirates)
Key Battle
Rakesh v/s Mohammadreza
While Rakesh Narwal dominated in the first few games for the Giants, it has been the other Rakesh in the past two matches. The youngster has pocketed raid points at will but has found no real support from any other end. He will be up against the Iranian Mohammadreza Chiyaneh and this would be an interesting battle.
