Pro Kabaddi Highlights: Sachin takes Patna Pirates past Haryana Steelers, Naveen shines for Dabang Delhi; Gujarat Giants beat Jaipur Pink Panthers

Pro Kabaddi League LIVE: Get PKL 8 live score and commentary as Haryana Steelers faces three-time champion Patna Pirates.

Updated : Dec 23, 2021 23:06 IST

Monu Goyat will lead Patna Pirates' raiding department this season. [File Image]
Monu Goyat will lead Patna Pirates' raiding department this season. [File Image]
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Monu Goyat will lead Patna Pirates' raiding department this season. [File Image]

Hello and welcome to Sportstar's live blog of the Pro Kabaddi League. This is Shyam Vasudevan and Lavanya Lakshmi Narayanan bringing you the coverage for the day.

Meanwhile, you can also check out our Kings of Kabaddi series from PKL 7  - a happier time pre-COVID when we got to physically sit down with some of the biggest names in the league and hear their stories. You can check out all episodes here:

 

Alright then, that brings us to the end of our Pro Kabaddi League coverage for the day. We will be back tomorrow for another pulsating triple-header. See you then!

What a thrilling win for the three-time champions! Patna Pirates bank on the brilliance of Monu Goyat and Sachin to earn a 42-39 victory over Haryana Steelers. Monu Goyat brought his A game to the fore in the second game as he contributed in defence as well to finish with 15 points. Sachin and captain Prashanth both bagged seven points to take the Pirates across the line. Guess the Pirates made the Steelers walk the plank (hehe!).


39-42 Sachin has won it! He snaps up two points off his last raid to propel Patna Pirates to a thrilling three-point win over Haryana Steelers.

38-40 Sachin might have just won it for Patna Pirates there! Surender leaps in with an ankle hold but Sachin manages to escape.

38-39 ROHIT GULIA IS AT IT AGAIN! He gets rid of Monu Goyat but can't get the bonus.

Was that not a do-or-die raid? Monu seems to have escaped there.

37-39 Sunil does his job to perfection as he makes a late dash on Meetu and tackles the Haryana Steelers raider.

37-38 Sachin heads into a do-or-die and does exceedingly well as he evades the tackle and puts his ahead.

37-37 We're back on level terms! Ashish does oh-so-very-well as he gets a touch on Chiyaneh on the left corner picks up a crucial point.

Less than five minutes to go and only one point separates the two teams!

36-37SUPER TACKLE! What a game this is turning out to be. Surender Nada goes for the tackle and yanks Monu away with a venomous ankle hold. That's a High 5 for Surender!

32-37 Oh my word Monu, what a jaw-dropping raid that is!!! He takes out three defenders and leaves them wondering what just happened as he crawls to safety.

32-34 That Super Tackle brings Vikas Khandola back on the mat and he, unfortunately, puts up an empty raid.

32-34 SUPER TACKLE! Sachin seems to have enough strength to get past the defenders but Ashish, Shrikanth and Ravi do really well to pull him back.

The Patna Pirates have a shot at a Super Raid and have called for a time out.

30-34 The TV umpire has a very tough decision to make and rules in Patna Pirates' favour.

This one's going down to the wire! Haryana Steelers have opted for a review and are suggesting that Rohit Gulia was safe and earned two points.

30-33 SUPER TACKLE! Shrikant makes a fine block as he dives onto Monu's ankle and earns his side two valuable ponts.

28-33 Rohit Gulia picks up a bonus point.

27-33 Monu Goyat excels in the raiding department now! He bags a two-point raid to power Patna Pirates to a six-point lead! That's a Super 10 for Mr Goyat!

27-31 Vikas Khandola is held back, courtesy an ankle hold from Monu Goyat.

26-30 Mohammadreza Chiyaneh joins the party! The Iranian, who was the most expensive foreigner in this season's auction, impresses with a strong ankle hold on Meetu.

26-28 That was so so so close! Rohit nearly replicates his Super Raid from the first half as he nearly wriggles out of the six-man defence, but he can't get his hand beyond the mid-line.

25-27 ALL OUT! Vikash is taken out and the Patna Pirates have inflicted an All Out! The side leads by two with 16 minutes left on the clock.

25-24 Two points for Monu Goyat and the Haryana Steelers are down to one man!

25-22 Haryana Steelers have a successful review and earn a bonus point.

24-22 Monu gets a running hand touch on Surender Nada and gets his side closer to restoring parity.

23-19 Sajin does just what his coach wanted of him and snaps a quick point.

Patna Pirates coach Ram Meher Singh: "The game was in our hand, we are making too many mistakes. Don't take stress!"

Hey guys, Shyam here and I will take you through the final 20 minutes of action!

HALF TIME: Haryana Steelers lead by four points as we head into half time. Haryana looking the more feisty unit here tonight while Patna's defence is left scratching its head trying to deal with Vikash Kandola.



22-18
Monu was going in for a bonus but Surender Nada comes up to him near the line and gifts Monu a point. Pointless this.

22-17
What an ankle hold here by Surender Nada. Vintage!

20-17 Bonus point for Patna but a player gets a green card for coaching during the raid and the player getting the card is Mohammadreza Chiyaneh - the exciting new acquisition for Patna Pirates. He's got his hands folded.

20-16 Oh, Jaideep Kuldeep given a taste of his own medicine. Tackled down. Just the second tackle point for Patna tonight.

20-15 Jaideep Kuldeep effects a lovely block here.

19-15
Vikash Kandola nicely slips into the left corner and 'STEELS' a point (Get it?)

18-14 Haryana Steelers have effected an all-out here! What a comeback.
All thanks to Rohit Gulia

15-12
Momentum swinging Haryana's way as they get yet another touch point

14-12 OH WHAT DO WE HAVE HERE! RAM MEHER SINGH IS LIVID/DISAPPOINTED. FOUR POINTS GO TO THE STEELERS! Rohit Gulia has done something special here. He has carted off a bulk of the Patna team out to the bench. Clinical. Rohit goes towards the right corner, is tackled there, gets a touch off four players and gets his hand across the line. Incredible.

10-12
Ooof nervous few seconds. Patna's raiser is out of bounds and it's a super tackle for Haryana

8-12
Bonus point for Haryana

7-12
Haryana finds a defender out of bounds. Easy points for Patna

7-11
Meetu is getting a hard lesson in the hardships of the PKL. Meetu tries to dive into the attack and is strangled there. Trying to do what the dubki king does but its not so easy, young man.

7-10
Prashant Kumar get two players to go off to the bench. Prashant doing all the hardwork with Monu Goyat not working as well.

7-8
Meetu has a nervous few seconds going side to side in the Patna half. He manages a solid touch on Sachin as he runs back.

6-8
Patna Pirates get a bonus plus touch point here. Srikanth goes back. Nice work from Prashant here.

6-6
Vikash Kandola is one of the best do-or-die raiders in the business and he shows you why. He flinches when a right cover gets a touch on him and then skips off to the mid line.

5-6
Monu Goyat is held around the shin and brought down. He has to walk off. No strength at all there for the Patna Pirates raider.

4-6 Pirates have clawed back with Sachin raiding successfully.

4-4 Patna Pirates have done well to bridge the gap, as Meetu falters and Pirates manage a super tackle.

4-1 Vikash Kandola sends out a defender, but got a touch point before that. Lovely here from Steelers

3-1 Prashant Kumar Rai sent off the bench. Haryana Steelers on fire early on.

2-1
Strong first raid for Meetu as he takes out a player in green to get off the mark.

1-1
Monu Goyat sent back by Vikash Kandola. Aggressive start from a very peaceful looking man.

0-1
Monu Goyat gets the Pirates off the mark

Three time champions Patna Pirates take on Haryana Steelers


Full time:
A largely one-sided affair goes in Dabang Delhi's favour as a listless defensive performance undoes Puneri Paltan in its opening game. Naveen Kumar picked up from where he left off two years ago, virtually unstoppable. It will interesting to see how he goes up against defensively more secure sides like a Gujarat Giants for example. Rahul Chaudhari was underwhelming, but that was not entirely unexpected. A fully fit Nitin Tomar and super sub Aslam Inamdar were bright spots for Pune which Anup Kumar will hold on to as they hope to get their campaign back on track going forward. For Delhi, Ajay Thakur did not put in a single raid - strange choice. We hope to hear from the team about that strategy. Manjeet Chhillar was poor in this game, with just a couple of successful tackles. Vijay played perfect second fiddle to Naveen Kumar and the pair promise interesting games for this side going ahead. 

30-41 And that's the game. Nitin Tomar gets a bonus point and Vijay finishes proceedings with an empty raid to bring the curtains down on a rather frustrating game of Kabaddi.

29-41
Jadhav Shahaji with an other error as he holds onto Vijay when he's inches away from the mid line. This is after Nitin Tomar wasted a raiding opportunity with just a bonus attempt which did not bring him the bonus point. Absolutely bizarre.

11 point lead now for Dabang Delhi

29-40
Too much speed here from Aslam Inamdar as he tries to siphon out a point but ends up out of bounds

A 10 POINT GULF here between Dabang Delhi and Puneri Paltan. Anup Kumar has told his boys to keep that gap under seven points. Can this side manage that? We wait and see as 123 seconds remain in this game.

29-39 15th point for Naveen Kumar
as Vishal Bharadwaj makes yet another mistake. This is frustrating for Pune.

29-38
Another bonus point for Aslam Inamdar.

28-38
Aslam inamdar gets a bonus point. What a bright spot Aslam has been for this Puneri Paltan side. Man to watch out for this season.

27-37
Vijay gets the bonus point and Aslam gets the ankle hold until the left cover comes to finish things up.

Under five minutes to go.

26-37 Seems like season 7's Rahul Chaudhari is the one we're still seeing
as the right corner crouches around him to push him out on the left side of the mat. All out and Dabang Delhi's lead increases. Rahul did get the bonus point though. Disappointing on several counts for Puneri Paltan tonight.

25-34
Naveen vengefully runs along, dives across the court and scrapes through the mid line to take two points.

25-32 Aslam Inamdar gets a point for Pune. Chipping away.

24-32
Naveen gets two points as the lead increases  one point and a potential send off for Naveen is saved as they didn't review that. Naveen had used the lobby but gets away with it.

24-31
Manjeet Chhillar is sent out yet again. Ajay Thakur seen grimacing in the sidelines. Manjeet has had a poor game. One tackle point today. Aslam Inamdar with the point for Pune.

23-31
Vishal Bharadwaj is sent to the bench. Multiple errors from the Puneri Paltan left corner. Sleek running hand touch from Vijay who is having a great night today.

23-30
Jeeva Kumar sends Mohite down. Right at the start. No mercy.

Anup Kumar: Thoda confidence se khelo - Play with a little more confidence


Just under 10 minutes remain in this game. A nervy affair so far.


23-29
Vijay gets a point as Pune funnily forces Nitin Tomar to defend. Be better, Pune. He's your best raider!

23-28
Rahul Chaudhari runs for the corner. Naveen Kumar decides to knock Rahul to the corner and Jeeva Kumar does the rest. Down and out

23-27
Bonus point for Naveen Kumar. Super 10 for the youngster. Yet again. Just rename this thing after him!

23-26 Bonus point for Nitin Tomar

22-26
Bonus point for Delhi, but the raider goes out. All-out and Pune is surging back in this game.

19-25
Nitin Tomar takes out Joginder Narwal. Another point. Another slip for Dabang Delhi

18-25 Puneri Paltan welcomes the new raider on the mat - Ashu Malik - with a massive block to send him to the bench

17-25
Manjeet Chhillar gifts Rahul Chaudhari a point with a hold on Rahul's ankle that's never going to stick.

16-25
Jadhav Shahaji made a lot of errors but this is a bright spot. He blocks Vijay deep in the centre to deny an opportunity to revive Naveen Kumar.

15-25 Manjeet Chhillar the weakness, Anup? Oh no.
Manjeet and Krishan Dhull, who replaced Ajay Thakur at half time, has given Dabang Delhi a point.

15-24
Anup may give his boys all the instructions but Vishal Bharadwaj has given Vijay an easy point here.

15-23
Bonus point for Dabang Delhi. Anup Kumar has told his boys to target Manjeet Chhilar. He urges his boys to take them on with courage.

HALF TIME:
That was a feisty first half of Kabaddi with SO MANY TALKING POINTS.

- Puneri Paltan has no answers for Naveen Kumar. It is almost as though the defence is ultra wary of his abilities and nervously ends up bungling basic defence.

- Nitin Tomar the best looking raider for Pune. Rahul Chaudhari has not had the desired effect and Pankaj Mohite, despite best efforts needs support at the other end, especially from Rahul to keep the pressure on.

- Delhi's defence is solid - Sandeep Narwal is a truck - nothing and no one passes.

- Naveen at his exceptional best, but he's getting good support from Vijay as well.

- Ajay Thakur has not been used as a raider in this game. Not one raid. We'll have to wait to see what the plan is for the veteran player in this set up.

15-22 Vijay is working hard to keep things going, gets a point as he nudges away to the midline.

15-21
Exceptional from Nitin Tomar as he slides under Sandeep Narwal after getting a touch and finds the midline.

14-21 OH Puneri Paltan has brought down Naveen. Finally.

13-21
Jeeva Kumar steps out of the mat, despite Ajay Thakur's best efforts to help him stay on the mat. Point for Puneri Paltan as a result.

12-21
Oh, Manjeet Chhillar has made an error here. He's had only one successful tackle from four tries and this is not one of them. Nitin Tomar comes in and the cover is slippery. Tomar reaches out and gets another touch to take 2 points. Left raider vs left cover - raider wins. This time.

10-21 Ankle hold from Joginder Narwal. No chance at all for Pankaj Mohite as Manjeet Chhilar also pounds down.

9-18 Naveen gets an easy point

9-17 Pankaj Mohite gets a point for Pune, but is now one of only two Pune players left. He needs to now change roles. Not ideal.

8-17 Naveen takes Jadhav Shahaji again. The Pune defense is crumbling before Naveen, almost just out of nerves. No strategy whatsoever.

8-16 Jeeva Kumar pounds into Rahul Chaudhari, leaving the chain and sending Rahul flying out of the mat. Making a brawny man like Rahul look like cotton candy.

Naveen has not been tackled yet in this game. Seven raids, seven points

8-15
Naveen extends his right foot and gets the most sublime toe touches on Vishal Bharadwaj. Sleek as ever from Naveen

8-14
Vijay gets a toe touch on Somveer. Very agile.

8-13
Rahul Chaudhari moves all over the place and jumps into the bonus line to get a point

7-13
Odd decision to review this call to not give the bonus point. Naveen has reviewed this, unnecessary, when you are leading by six points. And as expected, review is unsuccessful and they've lost a review in vain. They have to keep the emotions out of this game.

7-13
Sandeep Narwal is a charging bull and hammers the Puneri Paltan player into Joginder Narwal and then out of the mat. And it's Tomar no less. That's not easy at all. 

7-12
Vijay gets a bonus point for Dabang Delhi, going into the left, much like Rahul Chaudhari this

7-11
Tomar gets a bonus point for Pune

6-11
Breathless following this game so far. Nitin Tomar has taken out Manjeet Chhillar. That gap has to reduce for Puneri Paltan. First 10 minutes gone.

5-10 ALL OUT. Pune has been bundled out
as Manjeet Chhillar puts in one of his signature blocks to deny Vishal Bharadwaj any chance.

4-6
Pankaj Mohite makes the mistake of holding on to a swift Naveen Kumar and Naveen drags him with ease to the midline. Vishal Bharadwaj surprisingly playing on the right, despite being a left corner defender. Pune is all over the place here.

4-5
Naveen sends off Jadhav Shahaji. Point gifted to Dabang Delhi

4-5
Rahul Chaudhari makes the big mistake of getting involved in a tackle and gets a hold of Naveen's ankle but he's too quick. Why of why, Rahul? Packed off to the bench for no reason

4-4
Pankaj Mohite finishes a nervy do-or-die with a bonus point

3-4
Naveen runs down the right corner, very deep. Vishal Bharadwaj walks off. Makes it look too easy here Naveen.

3-3 Naveen is happy to take a point and saunters back to his side of the mat

3-2 Rahul Chaudhari gets a point here

2-2 Naveen Kumar takes off Nitin Tomar with a swift toe touch

2-1 Pankaj Mohite comes in but Sandeep Narwal slams him down. Brute force

2-0 Make that 2-0 as the men in orange slam

1-0 After Naveen Kumar's empty raid up front, Rahul Chaudhari gets Puneri Paltan off the mark with a nice turn to steal a point.

We have Naveen vs Rahul on the menu as Dabang Delhi takes on Puneri Paltan. We had an intense game between Gujarat Giants and Jaipur Pink Panthers which saw Manpreet Singh's men quite literally tackle the Panthers out of the game - perfect opening act for this star-studded affair.

 

All eyes on the two star raiders - the veteran superstar and the blazing young maverick. Can Rahul Chaudhari regain the magic in his game tonight?

Hey everyone. Lavanya here! Nice to be back to our live blog for the day.

-------------
We head into another blockbuster game as Dabang Delhi takes on Puneri Paltan next!

Gujarat Giants pulls off a defensive masterclass to earn a 34-27 win over Jaipur Pink Panthers. The Gujarat Giants, home to the most watertight defence in the PKL, offered little to no room to the Jaipur Pink Panthers. Only Arjun Deshwal managed 10 points for the Jaipur Pink Panthers, while the rest found it hard to evade the Gujarat Giants defence. Rakesh Narwal was Gujarat Giants' ace raider on the evening as he bagged seven points and Girish Maruti Ernak was the star of the match as he claimed seven points.


34-27 Girish Ernak with another huge tackle and that's the win for Gujarat Giants!

33-27 ALL OUT! The Gujarat Giants defence piles on Amit Nagar and that surely has to be the game.

30-27 That's a point for Gujarat Giants and they now have a three-point lead with less than a minute to go!

Rakesh Narwal heads in for a raid and claims that Sandeep Dhull has stepped off the mat. Jaipur Pink Panthers have only two men on that mat and this would reduce them to one!

29-27 Naveen heads in for a do-or-die raid but is bundled out by the Gujarat Giants defence. And he does not go for the bonus either!

Manpreet Singh, Gujarat Giants' coach says, "Giri, you're doing very well. When you see there's a chance, close in. Don't rush into the tackles."

28-27 Rakesh Narwal with a fine running hand touch to get rid of Amit Hooda. Rakesh Narwal has been absolutely brilliant for Gujarat Giants today.

26-26 Rakesh heads in for a do-or-die but can't escape Sandeep's tackle!

Less than five minutes to go and Gujarat Giants are holding on to a slender one-point lead. Can the side with the best defence in the League see through the win or will the Jaipur Pink Panthers stage a late comeback?

26-25 Girish Ernak with a monstrous tackle. He grabs onto Arjun's ankle and that's that. Girish brings up his High 5 and the Gujarat Giants have a one-point lead.

24-25 Rakesh Narwal gets the better of Vishal yet again! The Jaipur Pink Panthers defender has struggled to contain Rakesh and has to make the trip to the bench again.

23-25 That's a schoolboy error from Parvesh! He steps onto the lobby and gives away a free point to Jaipur Pink Panthers. Gujarat Giants coach Manpreet is absolutely furious and has been shown a green card.

The Jaipur Pink Panthers are contesting that Parvesh had stepped into the lobby during Arjun's raid  and are asking for Arjun to be re-instated. The TV umpire is taking his time to make a decision.

24-24  Arjun is sent back to the bench! Gujarat Giants' defence comes to the fore as Sunil throws in a stunning ankle hold to restrain Arjun. That's Sunil's first point of the evening!

Gujarat Giants coach Manpreet says,"Go for a tackle on Arjun Deshwal only when he comes in for a bonus point. Parvesh, be a little tght. Do not give them any bonus points! The Game is in our hands."

23-24 Pradeep is undone by a strong tackle from Sandeep and the Jaipur Pink Panthers have taken the lead here with a little over 10 minutes left!

23-22 SUPER 10! Arjun Deshwal brings up a Super 10 in only his 13th raid of the evening! That's a great start to his Jaipur Pink Panthers career.

23-21 Another strong raid from Rakesh Narwal and he bags two points this time. More importantly, he sends Jaipur Pink Panthers captain Deepak Hooda to the bench!

21-20 That's a brave raid from Rakesh Narwal! It was a do-or-die raid and he capitalises on Vishal's error to snap up another point.

20-20 Arjun wins this contest against Girish as he gets a running hand touch on the Gujarat Giants left corner!  The scores are level now with 16 minutes of play left.

20-19 Rakesh does so well, manages to jump past Amit Hooda's tackle but Vishal swoops in to pull him back. 

"Tootna mat bete (stay strong)," says Gujarat Giants coach Manpreet Singh. He sure does know how to rally his troops!

19-18 A good start for Jaipur Pink Panthers as Deepak gets a touch on Girish.

A nerve-wracking opening half ends with Gujarat Giants leading 19-17 . A slender two-point lead is all that separates the two sides, but if there's anything we know about kabaddi, it is that this sport is truly unpredictable. Stay tuned as we head into the second half.

18-17 ALL OUT! Arjun shows phenomenal strength to get overpower Parvesh and Sunil and brings his side back into this game!

18-12 SUPER TACKLE! Deepak has only two men on the mat to beat but falters and Parvesh Bhaninswal stops him with a strong thigh hold.

15-12 Deepak Niwas Hooda gets a running hand touch on Ravinder Pahal to reduce the deficit to three points.

15-11 Pardeep has been ousted as he runs into a wall in the form of the Jaipur Pink Panthers defence. Gujarat Giants are down to three men!

15-9 Arjun shows great game awareness to pick up two points.

15-7 Rakesh teases Amit by floating his leg close to him and Amit bites the bait. He attempts an ankle hold but Rakesh wriggles free.

14-7 Gujarat Giants have scored 10 points in the last five minutes, while the Jaipur Pink Panthers have managed none! Oh, how the momentum has shifted!

13-7 ALL OUT! Rakesh Narwal gets rid of the two remaining Jaipur Pink Panthers players and propels his side to a six-point lead.

9-7 Girish with another humongous tackle! He yanks Nitin by the ankle and doesn't let go.

7-7 The Gujarat Giants have restored parity! The defence combines really well to eliminate Deepak Hooda.

4-7 That's a massive tackle from Girish! He runs into Arjun, akin to a racing truck, to shove him off court.

3-6 Good work from Arjun as he gets a touch on Ravinder Pahal's head. Pahal, sporting some sort of a mullet, is sent to the bench,

2-3 Arjun keeps the scoreboard ticking as he picks up another bonus point.

1-2 First points on the board for Gujarat Giants as Rakesh finds some success in his third raid.

0-2 Arjun Deshwal bags  a point off his first raid for Jaipur as he gets rid of the Gujarat Giants captain!

0-1 Deepak opens Jaipur Pink Panthers' account as he snaps a bonus point.

Jaipur Pink Panthers won the toss and chose the court, so Gujarat Giants will begin with the first raid.

7:25pm: Right then, the two team are out on the mat and we're minutes away from action. This is going to be a classic defence vs attack contest - who do you think will come out on top?

7:20pm: Dharmaraj Cheralathan has made a move from Haryana Steelers to Jaipur Pink Panthers this season. At 46, he is packed with muscle and is the oldest player in the League. His fitness routine and passion for the game had left us floored when he caught up with him last season as part of our Kings of Kabaddi series - 

7:15pm: Here's a ready reckoner if you're new to the sport - we've put down all the rules and terms associated with the PKL -

7:10pm: Here's how the two sides will start today -

Gujarat Giants: Rakesh Narwal, Sunil Kumar, Parvesh Bhainswal, Pradeep Kumar, Rakesh, Ravinder Pahal, Girish Maruti Ernak

Jaipur Pink Panthers: Deepak Hooda, Amit, Vishal, Arjun Deshwal, Nitin Rawal, Amit Hooda, Sandeep Dhull

Gujarat-Giants
The Gujarat Giants will bank on its defence, now further bolstered by the arrival of Ravinder Pahal, as it hunts for a maiden Pro Kabaddi League (PKL) title.
 

7:05pm: Jaipur Pink Panthers has retained a bulk of its squad from last year and even held on to captain Deepak Niwas Hooda. While the side had a rather average outing last time around, they have been bolstered by the arrival of Arjun Deshwal, who was roped in for a massive 96 lakhs.

7pm: Coming to today's first game, we have Gujarat Giants, the side with the best defence in the league, taking on season one champs Jaipur Pink Panthers. Gujarat Giants has added Ravinder Pahal and Girish Ernak in the auctions to bolster a defence that already had the likes of Sunil Kumar and Parvesh Bhainswal, but the side lacks a proper high-profile raider.

6:55pm: Patna Pirates' new captain Prashant Kumar Rai gave a very interesting quote in day before yesterday's pre-tournament press conference. "Come February, one of the 11 teams will face Patna Pirates," he quipped. Here's what the other captains said -

vivo-Pro-Kabaddi-League-Season-8Image-1jpg
PKL Season 8 will begin with U Mumba facing Bengaluru Bulls in the tournament opener.
 

6:50pm: Hadi Oshtorak is among the richer foreign players in the league this season as Gujarat Giants roped him in for Rs. 20 lakh at the auctions this year. While his numbers pale when compared to someone like Mohammad Nabibakhsh, Oshtorak has at several points of his time in the PKL proven to be a useful all-rounder who can adapt to the situations of the game. To see Gujarat Giants, which will bid for its first title this season, back him with a price tag of the sort only piques interest on what he could potentially do for this side. Here are some of the other top foreigners in PKL 8 -

6:45pm: From Siddharth Desai to Pardeep Narwal, Pawan Kumar Sehrawat and Naveen Kumar, here are five players to look out for in PKL 8 -

6:40pm: So, what's new this season you ask? For starters, this season will be held behind closed doors at the Sheraton Grand Bengaluru Whitefield Hotel and Convention Centre. All 12 teams will be housed in the hotel, have designated time slots for training and meals, and will be allowed to travel only to the competition venue, which is just a few yards from their rooms. More on that here -

6:35pm: The Pro Kabaddi League got off to a rollicking start yesterday as defending champs Bengal Warriors cruised to a commanding win over UP Yoddha, while U Mumba stormed past Bengaluru Bulls. Tamil Thalaivas played out an entertaining (of sorts) tie with Telugu Titans. Here's a full recap -

pkl-day-01jpg
An exciting first day of season eight of the Pro Kabaddi League saw U Mumba's Abhishek Singh and Bengal Warriors Mohammad Nabibakhsh steal the spotlight.
 

6:30pm: Hey folks, welcome to another day of Pro Kabaddi League action! We've got three crunch fixtures today as Gujarat Giants begin the proceedings by taking on Jaipur Pink Panthers. The second game of the evening will see last season's runner up Dabang Delhi lock horns with Puneri Paltan. The final fame of this exciting triple header will have Haryana Steelers face three-time champion Patna Pirates. Stay tuned for an exciting evening of kabaddi!

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