The first day of Pro Kabaddi League (PKL) action in 2022 saw three successive draws as none of the six teams managed to claim a victory.
UP Yoddha made a strong comback to earn a draw with U Mumba in the first game, while a strange decision from Rohit Kumar and a superb tackle from Pawan Kumar Sehrawat saw Bengaluru Bulls and Telugu Titans share the spoils soon after. Dabang Delhi had a healthy lead but let it slip in the end as Tamil Thalaivas clawed back to pick up some much-needed points.
U Mumba would rue its chances in its game against UP Yoddha after being in the lead for large parts. The defence was solid and did well to keep the Dubki King Pardeep Narwal quiet throughout. A cause of concern for UP Yoddha will be Pardeep Narwal's form as the ace raider endured a poor outing and was taken off 10 minutes into the second half.
Fazel Atrachali's U Mumba had a three-point lead at the interval and UP Yoddha did really well to claw its way back into the game in the second half and earned a well-deserved draw. U Mumba raider Ajith Kumar was at his best yet again as he picked up nine points, while UP Yoddha's secondary raider Surender Gill picked up eight. UP Yoddha's Sumit's was the best defender of the game as he put up a strong show and bagged six points.
- Telugu Titans lose the plot against Bengaluru Bulls -
Telugu Titans was seconds away from claiming its first win of PKL 8 and the side's skipper Rohit Kumar just had to ensure his final raid was a legal one but he was tackled by Pawan Kumar Sehrawat as Bengaluru Bulls came back from the jaws of defeat to snatch a draw.
Rohit, with just one point all season, surprisingly chose himself to go for the last raid but he wasn't able to deliver the goods as Pawan pulled him away with a fine tackle and the game ended tied at 34-34.
Telugu Titans' Ankit Beniwal was impressive with a Super 10 while Adarsh, a traditional left corner, did remarkably well to bag five raid points.
Bengaluru Bulls will be happy to share the spoils but looked off-colour for large parts of the game. The raiding duo of Pawan and Chandran bagged eight and nine points respectively but were far from their best, while the defence was caught off-guard far too often.
- Dabang Delhi undone by Tamil Thalaivas -
Dabang Delhi was ahead by eight points with ten minutes remaining when Tamil Thalaivas asked for a time out and that made all the difference as the whole complexion of the game changed. Tamil Thalaivas made a surging comeback and kept chipping away at Dabang Delhi's lead. Naveen Kumar, who had picked up 14 raid points, was confined to the bench for the last five minutes and Tamil Thalaivas managed to complete the comeback and tie the game.
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