U.P. Yoddhas, the GMR Group-owned team, is gearing up for redemption in their reverse fixture against Patna Pirates in Match 79 of Pro Kabaddi 2023-24, which will be played here at the Gachibowli Indoor Stadium.

The Pirates got the better of the Yoddhas 41-48 when the two teams faced each other on New Year’s Day in Noida. The Yoddhas will hope to bring their season back on track after losing five straight games against the Pirates, who are also winless in their last four games.

U.P. Yoddhas went down to Bengal Warriors 37-42 in their previous game and are currently eleventh in the league standings with 22 points and a score difference of -34. On the other hand, Patna Pirates suffered a big loss to Tamil Thalaivas in their previous match and are currently placed eighth in the points table with zero score difference.

The match between U.P. Yoddhas and Patna Pirates will be telecast LIVE on Star Sports Network and can be streamed LIVE on Disney Hotstar on January 19, 2024, from 09:00 p.m. (IST) onwards.

Across all seasons of PKL, both teams have faced each other 14 times. The Yoddhas have emerged on the top on five occasions, with eight games going in the Pirates’ way and one tie.

Speaking before the match, U.P. Yoddhas Head Coach Jasvir Singh said, “This will be a crucial game for us with the playoffs in sight. The boys are giving their 100% in the training to get our campaign back on track. We missed out on victory against Patna before, but we will give our best tomorrow to turn the result to our side.”

The Yoddhas have missed the services of raider Surender Gill in the last few matches, which has increased the responsibility on Pardeep Narwal, who currently has 106 raid points to score the bulk of the points in raiding.

The defence has been performing consistently throughout the tournament. Both the corners, Sumit and Nitesh Kumar, have made lives difficult for the opposition raiders, earning 44 and 34 tackle points, respectively. They have been well-assisted by the cover defender Gurdeep, who has 28 tackle points to his name so far. All-rounder Vijay Mallik has stepped up on essential occasions in both departments and scored 46 points this season.

The Patna Pirates’ attack is led by their star raider Sachin, who has earned 119 raiding points. He is well-assisted by the raiding pair of Manjeet and Sudhakar M, who have been in good touch throughout the tournament, earning 76 and 75 raiding points, respectively. Krishan and Ankit have been the highlight in defence for the Pirates, earning 37 and 36 tackle points, respectively.