BENGALURU: Dabang Delhi will lock horns with Tamil Thalaivas here on Saturday as the playoffs race intensifies in the Pro Kabaddi League.
Naveen Kumar showed everyone that he is back to his full fitness with a Super 10 in Delhi's previous outing and will be eyeing a chance to exploit the inconsistencies creeping into the Thalaivas' defence.
The second match of the 'Triple Panga' night will see U Mumba take on defending champions Bengal Warriors.
Bengal's chances of making it to the playoffs are less but they would certainly not want to go down without a fight.
U Mumba have endured a mixed campaign with their usually reliable left corner Fazel Atrachali not scaling his meteoric heights.
The last game of the night will feature bottom dwellers Telugu Titans and young Puneri Paltan.
The team from Pune will be the favourites to win the match based on form.
But fatigue might play a factor with Pune playing their third game in as many days.
The match between Thalaivas and Dabang might well be decided by two of the best youngsters in kabaddi.
Delhi's Naveen is a right raider and Thalaivas' Sagar is a right corner defender, so both these athletes might not go face-to-face in the match, but the team's fortunes largely revolve around them.
Thalaivas' raiding combination of Manjeet and Ajinkya Pawar doesn't have the same multi-point ammunition as Bulls' Pawan Sehrawat or Bengal's Maninder Singh.
They are consistent and will take the bonus points on offer but will not offer quick elimination of the opponents from the mat.
Therefore, it is vital for the Thalaivas to be aggressive in their defence.
In Naveen, they will be facing the league's most complete raider.
He has been making a slow comeback after a knee injury but showed he hasn't lost his attacking edge against the Warriors.
If Delhi can revive Naveen quickly through the likes of Vijay and Ashu Malik, they will certainly improve their chances of victory.