Hello and welcome to Sportstar's coverage of the Pro Kabaddi League. This is
Lavanya Lakshmi Narayanan bringing you the coverage for the day.
Coming up next is the big-ticket clash between defending champion Bengal Warriors and the defensive rocks Gujarat Giants. Join Shyam as he takes you through that game:
That brings an entertaining and progressively one-sided encounter to an end. Bengaluru Bulls and Tamil Thalaivas began cautiously with both raiding units struggling to get going. Pawan Sehrawat took some time to warm up to the action but both teams put up solid defensive performances to leave the score at 19-13 at the halfway stage. Chandran Ranjit, Bharat and Pawan's coordinated raiding plan pipped whatever Tamil Thalaivas had in mind as they complemented the work put in by their defence. The Bulls successfully neutralised Manjeet (who had a good game as a defender tonight) and eventually were the better raiders as they thumped the Thalaivas by an eight point margin.
38-30
Prapanjan comes in, botches an attempt at a bonus point and tries again. Saurabh Nandal gets an ankle hold and Prapanjan is pulled back and then pushed sideways. It gives the Bulls an 8-point lead and denied the Thalaivas points today. And the final whistle goes off. VICTORY FOR THE BULLS!
37-30
Surjeet has let Pawan go and gifted him a point. His ninth raid point of the night.
36-30 Empty raid for Prapanjan
36-30
Aman comes up and gets a ridiculously strong back hold on Bhavani Rajput to thump him down. OH THE STRENGTH. SIX POINT LEAD FOR THE BULLS
Okay, I had to look away for a while and both sides have snagged a few points. With a minute an a half left, here's where we stand.
34-29 MANJEET TAKEN OUT AGAIN.
Aman to the fore this time, shutting him down on the left cofrner. Bulls running away with this at this rate.
33-29
Sahil just gifted Pawan Sehrawat a point. What was that! He just goes and holds Pawan and gently helps him go away with him.
32-29
Bhavani Rajput gets Saurabh Nandal to get things going in the final few minutes of the game.
Randhir Singh:
Manjeet is sitting out. Don't let him come back.
Get bonuses. To Bharat he says: Dodge Manjeet, Surjeet.
FOUR POINT LEAD TO THE BULLS AS WE ENTER THE FINAL FIVE MINUTES OF THE GAME
32-28
Manjeet is first stopped mid raid for the umpires to figure out what's happening and if it's a do-or-die raid but when he repeats that raid, he gets tackled towards the right corner.
31-28
Mohit hammers Chandran Ranjit out of the mat. Lead down to three points
31-27
Bulls pull down Manjeet but he is up in arms about a jersey pull. The referee rules in his favour. Point to the Thalaivas
31-26
Chandran Ranjit gets both defenders to effect the all-out
27-26 SO THE POINTS GO TO THE BULLS
27-26
26-25
Chandran Ranjit understood the assignment and entices Sagar. Mohit makes an error and lunges towards him, he takes down Chandran Ranjit but his foot makes it past the line. WHAT A POINT. He has rolled through
Randhir Singh: Sagar is caught up with trying to dive. Take advantage of that. Tempt him to come to you.
25-25 Manjeet draws level. My word. NOTHING
separates these sides.
25-24 SUPER TACKLE.
Don't count out the Tamil Thalaivas. Pawan Sehrawat has been brought down for the sixth time.
25-22 Saurabh Nandal pulls back Prapanjan. No chance
24-22
Chandran Ranjt is fantastic. SPIDERMAN LIKE! He's got the suit for it too as he jumps up above the Thalaivas defence to snag a point
23-22
Thalaivas defender finds himself out of bounds. Point to the Bulls
22-22
It's level now as Bhavani Rajput's ankles get stuck in the Bulls' quicksand.
21-22 Bonus point to Chandran Ranjit
20-22
Bharat gets a touch point and gets Pawan back
19-22
OH RUTHLESS FROM THE THALAIVAS YET AGAIN. Pawan has been sent off yet again. Surjeet comes across and blocks Pawan up front and gets support from ALL his teammates.
19-21 Surrender raid going in favour of the Thalaivas and the all-out has been affected. WHAT A COMEBACK
19-18
Dong Geon Lee is a good left raider, but Surjeet gets an ankle hold, moving from his cover position to get the South Korean off.
19-17
Prapanjan gets a touch to keep the scorecard ticking. Pawan will watch from the bench and Thalaivas are happy to capitalise.
19-16
One of the best tackles we've seen all night. Chandran Ranjit looked nimble but struggled to find someone to gt a touch off. Sahil Singh goes around Chandran, holds and pulls him back. Is this kabaddi or wrestling?
19-15
Manjeet picks up his first point of the match. Bulls down to four men.
19-14
Intent straight up. Pawan's ankles are targeted - Surjeet the man and Pawan needs to go warm the bench for a while.
And we're back. Pray for my hands please.
HALF TIME: Bengaluru Bulls started unsteadily in this game, but has found its way back courtesy Pawan Sehrawat getting into the groove. The Bulls don't just have Sehrawat and Chandran Ranjit, but now have a third raiding option in Bharat - a fresh local talent whose speed and nimble raiding prowess well hope the other two breathe easy. This raiding trio is in far more control than the raiders in the Thalaivas camp. Prapanjan has struggled as has Manjeet as the defence dominated the points scored early on. Since then, the Thalaivas have accommodated Pawan - something they have to correct if they want to have a chance to claw its way back in the team.
19-13
Prapanjan is also getting into the groove now. He gets a running hand touch and a point to reduce that gulf between the two teams to six points.
19-12
Pawan is adamant he has snatched two points here and is unimpressed as he reviews the move. Bulls get the two points.
17-12
Prapanjan meanwhile quietly gets a point - a running hand touch on Mahender - to get his first raid point of the night. The raiders (save Pawan) have struggled today
17-11
Bengaluru Bulls effects the all-out. Six point lead for the Bulls now. Thalaivas need to come back into this game to stay alive.
14-10
Pawan takes out Sagar as the Thalaivas are reduced to one man. Too easy for the hi-flyer!
13-10
Tamil Thalaivas get a bonus point here and they substitue.
13-9
Pawan Sehrawat pinches a point and gets Manjeet out. Frustration for the Thalaivas
12-9
Prapanjan comes in for a do-or-die raid but gets stuck as he sticks into the left corner. Saurabh Nandal and Bharat - with an ankle hold - gets the job done.
11-9
Bharat gets yet another point for his side. Ably assisting Pawan Sehrawat and Pawan is happy to use him more. Good strategy. Playing to their strengths, hopefully sans ego.
10-9
Bhavani Rajput fights fire with fire and manages a running hand touch to seemingly take 2 points. Bulls contest it but two points have been given. He has kept the Thalaivas in the game time and again tonight and we're just 15-ish minutes down
10-7
Bharat's running hand touch takes out Sahil. Do or die raid this one and he manages his pace well to get his team a point
Raiders are struggling in this match. A match that features Pawan Sehrawat. Did you see this coming?
9-7
Manjeet is taken out by Mayur Jaganathan who blocks and then dashes him out of the court.
8-7
Chandran Ranjit gets a touch point, removing Mohit
7-7
Pawan tries the Dubki yet again and fails yet again, blocked out in the left corner. Why is Pawan trying this move? It is NOT working for him
7-6
Prapanjan taken out as well, shackled and blocked
6-6
Thalaivas extend the courtesy back, closing out the Bulls raider. Pardon me not knowing who the raider is, my eyes and hands cant keep up with the pace of this team.
5-6
Manjeet is brought down in the right corner, and tries to reach for the midline but the Bulls close in on him. He is stills struggling. What a fighter Manjeet, but he can't manage a point here
5-5
Bharat, in his first raid in the Pro Kabaddi League, pushes through to the midline, getting a point for his side
4-5
Bhavani Rajput thinks he's managed a touch on Aman and is gesturing for a review. Surjeet is allowing a review here and they are successful. Aman has to go to the bench and Bhavani Rajput has given the Thalaivas the lead here.
4-4
Thalaivas bring down Chandran Ranjit on the right corner. No luxuries accorded there. Sagar putting in a good shift with Mohit.
4-3
Thalaivas are not to be kept down. Manjeet gets involved in the tackle as he gets Pawan down with a hold around his legs. Lovely direct contest here.
4-2
Prapanjan is stamped down by the Bulls' defense. Strong early signs from this defensive unit
3-2
Pawan gets the lightest touches on Surjeet. Sublime
2-2
Do or die raid for Thalaivas. Bonus point is given but the raider is squashed right behind the midline
1-1
Ordinary from Pawan here. He goes in, looking to do the dubki, but he's stuck right there, on the right flank
1-0
Empty raid there from Manjeet. Taking his time to look at his opponents.
1-0
Pawan Sehrawat starts with a perfect touch point to get off the mark right away. He was cautious there with that. Notes have been taken from the previous game. No space for complacency.
0-0
Prapanjan starts with an empty raid
First raid of the match will come from the Tamil Thalaivas
As we speak, we now know that Dabang Delhi has pulled off a remarkable turnaround with Naveen Kumar guiding them to a win over U Mumba.
8:30pm: LINEUPS - Here is the starting seven for both teams
Bengaluru Bulls: Pawan Sehrawat, Mahender Singh, Bharat, Chandran Ranjit, Saurabh Nandal, Aman
Tamil Thalaivas:
K Prapanjan, Surjeet Singh, Mohit, Manjeet, Bhavani Rajput, Sagar, Sahil Singh
8:25pm: Let's get down to the fixture before us -
Tamil Thalaivas vs Bengaluru Bulls - The Thalaivas had a decent game against the Telugu Titans but the match also saw the Thalaivas put up a less than adequate defensive performance. The match was in the hands of the Thalaivas but Manjeet was wasteful in the final raid, taking an unnecessary risk and getting tackled to even the scores. Bengaluru Bulls meanwhile was thoroughly outplayed by U Mumba, losing by a 16-point margin. Despite positive performances from Pawan Sehrawat and Chandran Ranjit registering Super 10s, the defence could not contain Abhishek Singh's onslaught. They will hope to do better against the Thalaivas.
8:10pm: If you're new to the Kabaddi carnival, we have a bunch of resources than can help you out
ALL SQUADS:
ALL FIXTURES:
SEASON PREVIEW :
ALSO READ | PKL Season 8: Return of the action heroes
8pm: Shyam and I sat down to discuss all things PKL in a Twitter Spaces session earlier today. Head to our Twitter handle ( @Sportstarweb ) to listen in.
FOLLOW THE 1ST GAME - U MUMBA VS DABANG DELHI HERE:
As you wait for action to begin today, 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.
- Day 01 results:
Bengaluru Bulls U Mumba
Telugu Titans 40-40 Tamil Thalaivas
Bengal Warriors UP Yoddha
Read More:
- Day 02 results:
- Gujarat Giants 34-27 Jaipur Pink Panthers
- Dabang Delhi 41-30 Puneri Paltan
- Haryana Steelers 39-42 Patna Pirates
Read More:
----
Hey folks, welcome to another day of Pro Kabaddi League action! It's day 3 of action in Bengaluru and we've seen all the 12 teams in the league take to the mat at least once. Before we introduce you to the fixtures of the day, here's a look at the results from day 1 and 2.
Comments
SHARE