PKL 2019 | Chances of claiming title – UP Yoddha

Why will they win

UP Yoddha’s strength is their defence. After Nitesh Kumar starred for them in the previous season with 100 tackle points, this year they have discovered a star for the left corner. Sumit is their best defender so far in the league with a total of 72 tackle points at that position. In the initial passage of the league, when Nitesh was not doing that well, it was Sumit who stood up and helped the team get tackle points in many crucial situations. Sumit is at the third place on the defenders’ list and coming back to form, skipper Nitesh is not that far. The right corner is in fourth place at the moment with a total of 70 points from 22 games. If the duo continues with the way they have been playing together in the season, then they might make the lives of the many raiders difficult on the mat. The two corners have been playing together for many years for the same club in their village and that has benefitted UP a lot in this season. 

© PKL

Jasveer Singh and his deputy Arjun Singh will have to ensure that they get the raiding combination right ahead of the playoffs. With Jadhav and Gill doing well in the raiding department, it will be interesting to see who are the other two raiders apart from Jadhav in the playoff games. Goyat came back after an injury and performed well in the home leg which must have given the raider some confidence going into the business end of the competition. Rishank’s presence on the mat is important as it is evident that the senior pro is the man who does most of the talking on the mat. His experience will be handy and that is the headache for the team management ahead of the playoffs as they have an inexperienced skipper in Nitesh who doesn’t have the experience of leading the team in pressure games.

UP’s cover defenders Ashu Singh and Amit are a cause of concern for them as well. Both the players have been poor this season. Amit, at the left-cover, has 30 tackle points at a strike rate of just above 37 while his partner Ashu has scored 40 with a strike rate of just more than 40. Although, Ashu showed great composure in the last game and got a high 5, both of them need to ensure that they come with some good show as the corner combination is already doing wonders for the team. On a one-off day, if Nitesh and Sumit fail together then it will be really difficult for UP to overcome the challenge against any of the teams who are in the playoffs.