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After being trumped by the newbies UP Yoddha, the Bengaluru Bulls have a task at their hand as they look to come back to winning ways in the 5th Season of Pro Kabaddi League. However, they will be facing Patna Pirates in their fourth fixture and the defending champions are always a threat, no matter whether the opposition is playing in front of their home crowds or Patna’s.
Although two matches in such a long league are hardly anything to go by, one can’t look away from the fact that the Patna Pirates haven’t put a foot wrong in the first two games. Keeping that in mind, there is hardly any guessing as to who would start the game as favourites on Sunday evening.
LIVE COMMENTARY: Bengaluru Bulls vs Patna Pirates, 06 August 2017
The Bulls began their season in grand fashion by registering back to back wins against Telugu Titans and Tamil Thalaivas. However, the team, barring Rohit Kumar, looked listless in the game against UP Yoddha. That’s one area the new look team has to lookafter as the previous Bulls' units also made the same mistake of overly relying on their star raider. As a result, Kumar’s performance also tapered off as the season progressed under the immense pressure of captaincy and the team’s over reliance on him.
This season, however, Kumar has looked sharper and the hat trick of Super 10s is the evidence of it. But like always, the support that he deserves isn’t coming from others. If the team has to stop the Pirates juggernaut, they would need Ajay Kumar and Ashish Kumar to step up.
For Patna, it’s a case of not letting the intensity die down. They have played with passion and have achieved the desired results. The team looks a cohesive unit and what has worked in their favour is Monu Goyat’s form that has allowed Pardeep Narwal to raid more aggressively.
The only area of concern for the team, however, remains its defence which hasn’t put up a show resembling the intensity of its raiding department. Nonetheless, with names like Vishal Mane and Sachin Shingade in there, the defence should pick itself up soon. Against a rampaging Rohit Kumar, they will have their task cut out.
Bengaluru Bulls vs Patna Pirates match prediction
The game clearly will be a battle between Rohit Kumar against Pardeep Narwal and Monu Goyat. In such a scenario, the onus will be on the Bengaluru defence to put in an inspired performance and keep Narwal and Goyat quiet and let Kumar do what he has been doing brilliantly in the last three games. However, with a defence unit short on names that inspire confidence, one can see the Pirates register their third consecutive victory of the league on Sunday night.
