Visakhapatnam, Sep 4 : UP Yoddhas look to chase their third consecutive win in Pro Kabaddi League (PKL) 12 as they take on the Haryana Steelers at the Vishwanadh Sports Club in Vizag on Friday.

The Yoddhas have made a strong start to the season with back-to-back wins against Telugu Titans and Patna Pirates. They currently sit second on the table with four points from two games, while Haryana Steelers, placed eighth with two points, edged U Mumba in a tie-breaker in their last outing.

The Yoddhas will be banking on their offensive and defensive lynchpins, Gagan Gowda and Sumit Sangwan, respectively, to ensure a smooth sailing in this encounter. Gowda has been their most profound raider with 21 points across two appearances, whereas Sangwan has been robust at the back, teaming up tidily with Ashu Singh in tandem to strike 13 points until now.

Naveen Kumar and Vinay from the Steelers had joined hands to amass 17 points against U Mumba, and stopping that duo will be instrumental for the Yoddhas' prospects of maintaining their fine start to the season.

'When we face a strong opponent, we have the belief in our team to overcome any challenges by sticking to our plans. Our focus is always on following the blueprint we have devised, even during pressure situations. We are pleased to have characters like Gagan in our team, who thrive when the stakes are high. It really helped us in our previous win against the Patna Pirates. These are early phases of the season. We have analysed Haryana's two matches so far, and will develop our plans accordingly for the forthcoming fixture,' UP Yoddhas assistant coach Upendra Malik said ahead of the clash.

The UP Yoddhas have produced a perfect blend of individual brilliance coupled with collective capabilities in PKL 12. For instance, Sangwan tops the list of most tackle points (13), most high 5s (2), and most successful tackles (12), whereas Gowda has aggregated the highest number of super raids (2). That, intertwined with the contributions of other key personnel such as vice-captain Ashu, Shivam Choudhary, and Guman Singh, amongst others, set the Yoddhas up perfectly for what promises to be a riveting battle ahead against the Steelers.

/IANS