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The fifth match of the Pro Kabaddi League (PKL) will see the Jaipur Pink Panthers and Bengal Warriors make their season debut as they face off at the Gachibowli Stadium in Hyderabad. The two teams are scheduled to play at 8 PM today (Sunday, October 20).
The Pink Panthers are expected to be clinical on the offensive. The team's raiding challenge will be spearheaded by captain Arjun Deshwal, who held the joint record for the highest raid points last season.
Joining Deshwal on the attacking end will be Shrikant Jhadav and Vikash Kandola, who scored 74 and 68 raid points, respectively, last season. On the other side, strongholds in the team’s defense will include the likes of Surjeet Singh, Lucky Sharma, and Ankush Rathee.
Meanwhile, while the Panthers are expected to rely on attacking strategies, the Bengal Warriorz seem to be focused more on the defense. They have appointed Fazel Atrachali as captain in hopes that the Iranian legend will be able to steer their ship back towards the play-off stages. Joining Atrachali in making Bengal a formidable force in defense this season will be Vaibhav Garje and Nitin Kumar.
Additionally, with Atrachali leading the team now, Maninder Singh is freed to focus solely on his raiding duties. Maninder was formidable as a raider last season, scoring 197 points and averaging 9.38 raid points per match for the 21 times he played.
PKL 2024: Bengal Warriorz vs Jaipur Pink Panthers prediction
The Jaipur Pink Panthers will head into the match on the back of a solid run in Season 10, where they made it to the semifinals before falling to the Haryana Steelers. The two-time champions will be eager to get back to the top and look well-equipped. On the other hand, the Bengal Warriorz come into the match after a few forgettable years and will be eager to make their mark early this season.
Even though the Panthers trail the Warriorz 8-10 in their head-to-head records, they remain favorites to clinch the win tonight.
Prediction: Jaipur Pink Panthers to win this PKL 2024 match.
