So that's it for today! Tune in again on Wednesday for some Pro Kabaddi semifinal action. See you!
On 16/09/2019 (Wednesday):
7:30 PM: Semi-final 1 - Dabang Delhi KC vs Bengaluru Bulls.
8:30 PM: Semi-final 2 – Bengal Warriors vs U Mumba.
So two former champions have made the semifinals after contrasting wins in the Eliminators today. Earlier in the day, Bengaluru Bulls overcame UP Yoddha 48-45 after the first extra-time in Pro Kabaddi history and now U Mumba makes the last-four for the first time since season three with a dominant 46-38 win over the Haryana Steelers. We are down to the last three games of ProKabaddi League season seven now!
U MUMBA JOINS BENGALURU BULLS IN THE SEMIS!!! IT WILL TAKE ON THE BENGAL WARRIORS, WHILE BENGALURU WILL FACE DABANG DELHI KC IN THE LAST-FOUR!
U MUMBA 46 - 38 HARYANA STEELERS: SUPER TACKLE!!! Chand Singh takes out Abhishek Singh to close the gap. But this game is done and dusted. GAME OVER!
ANOTHER TIME-OUT TAKEN!
46 - 36: Vinay got the bonus point frist but Fazel Atrachali immediately floored him with a double thigh hold and Young Chang Ko assisted his captain well. Haryana down to three men!
45 - 35: Ridiculous stuff by Harender! Vinay gets a quick raid touch point for Haryana.
45 - 34: Abhishek Singh sends Cheralathan to the bench with a very good escape.
44 - 34: Well done Harender Kumar! Vikas Kandola heads to the bench due to a successful block.
TIME-OUT TAKEN BY U MUMBA! IT'S NOT BEEN A GREAT NIGHT FOR THE DEFENDERS. WITH TWO TACKLE POINTS AND A NUMBER OF UNSUCCESSFUL TACKLES, FAZEL, SANDEEP AND SURENDER ARE TONIGHT'S TOP DEFENDERS!
43 - 34: Young Chang Ko pushes Prashanth Kumar Rai out of bounds. Three minutes and 32 seconds remaining and U Mumba currently holds a healthy nine-point lead!
ARJUN DESHWAL HAS COMPLETED 150 POINT IN PRO KABADDI SEASON SEVEN!
42 - 34: Prashanth Kumar Rai takes out Harender Kumar with a running hand touch. Arjun Deshwal bags a bonus point at the other end.
41 - 33: Two-point raid by Abhishek Singh! Eight-point lead for U Mumba! REVIEW UNSUCCESSFUL FOR U MUMBA! It wanted an extra point but the referees' decision stands.
39 - 33: Bonus plus one raid touch point for Haryana Steelers and Prashanth Kumar Rai! Horrible day for Surender Singh so far.
39 - 31: Prashanth Kumar Rai gets the better of Sandeep Narwal one more time in today's game.
39 - 30: Chand Singh yet again the target for Arjun and the Mumbai raider gets a bonus.
38 - 30: ALL-OUT!!! What a comeback from Haryana here! Dharmaraj Cheralathan floors Mumbai's last man Abhishek with a double thigh hold.
37 - 27: Bonus point for Abhishek. But Vikas Kandola evades Harendra Kumar. U Mumba down to one man!
36 - 26: Brilliant from Vinay! He doesn't take much time as Young Chang Ko heads to the bench.
36 - 25: Vinay and Vikas Kandola with two successive successful raids for Haryana as Fazel Atrachali and Surender Singh are out respectively. This game is far from done with 9 minutes and 45 seconds to go!
36 - 23: The lead now is 13 in favour of U Mumba! Sandeep Narwal and Arjun Deshwal head to the bench here. Can Haryana Steelers make a comeback now?
36 - 21: SUPER RAID BY ABHISHEK SINGH!!! He got the bonus point first! He then got the better of Ravi Kumar and Chand Singh. SUPER-10 FOR ABHISHEK.
33 - 21: Arjun Deshwal gets the better of Prashanth Kumar Rai with a simple hand touch.
HARYANA STEELERS COACH RAKESH KUMAR CALLS FOR A TIME-OUT!
32 - 21: ONE MORE ALL-OUT!!!!! Vikas Kandola is absolutely floored with a dash by Surender Singh. SUPER-10 FOR VIKAS KANDOLA!!!
29 - 20: Another bonus point for Vikas Kandola. But Abhishek Singh immediately restores U Mumba's 9-point lead. Haryana down to one man!!!
28 - 19: Bonus for Vikas Kandola first and in the next raid, Arjun Deshwal gets two points! Both Chand Singh and Sunil are the defenders at fault here.
26 - 18: RAIDER AND DEFENDER OUT OF BOUNDS WITHOUT A TOUCH! Dharmaraj Cheralathan stepped out first! And then Arjun Deshwal ran out of bounds.
24 - 16: U Mumba's Abhishek Singh keeps racking up the raid points as well. Haryana Steelers' Prashanth Kumar Rai is finally getting into the groove. Prashanth gets the better of Sandeep Narwal with a toe touch.
U MUMBA 23 - 15 HARYANA STEELERS: SUPER-10 FOR ARHJUN DESHWAL! Arjun has really stepped up today. Sunil is defender out.
THE FINAL 20 MINUTES OF ELIMINATOR ACTION ARE UNDERWAY!
20 unsuccessful tackles from both sides in the first 20 minutes but U Mumba skipper and star defender Fazel Atrachali has two successful tackles in as many attempts. The Iranian has assisted a few as well The Haryana Steelers raiders have slightly underperformed compared to their opponents tonight.
THE FIRST-HALF IS DONE AND DUSTED!
U MUMBA 22 - 15 HARYANA STEELERS: Two-point raid by Arjun Deshwal! Seven-point lead for U Mumba against Haryana Steelers!!! He got the bonus first and then evaded Sunil with a well-timed escape.
20 - 15: ALL-OUT!!!! U MUMBA ON TOP HERE! Fazel Atrachali absolutely floored Vikas Kandola to complete the formalities.
17 - 14: Abhishek Singh gets rid of Vikas Kale and reduces Haryana to one man on the mat once again.
16 - 14: Bonus plus one point for Vikas Kandola!
16 - 11: Haryana down to one man!! Skipper Dharmaraj Cheralathan with a failed but ambitious effort. Abhishek Singh easily gets past Anna's tackle.
15 - 11: What a raider Arjun Deshwal is turning out to be!!! He evaded a Ravi Kumar dash in style to increase his side's lead.
14 - 11: Fazel Atrachali with a perfect ankle hold here!! Vinay heads to the bench. Three-point lead for U Mumba right now!
13 - 11: Yet another mistake from the left corner Chand Singh. Arjun Deshwal runs past the mid line with the point.
12 - 11: U Mumba bags the lead! Arjun Deshwal gets the better of Sunil with a simple hand touch.
11 - 11: REVIEW UNSUCCESSFUL FOR HARYANA STEELERS! Abhishek Singh gets the successful touch point as the referees' decision stands.
10 - 11: Vinay takes out U Mumba substitute Harender with another perfect running hand touch to regain the lead for Haryana Steelers.
10 - 10: THE SCORES ARE LEVEL AT TEN APIECE! REVIEW SUCCESSFUL FOR U MUMBA! It was on a bonus point. And Abhishek Singh gets the Bonus!
9 - 10: Arjun Deshwal gets rid of Haryana substitute Chand Singh, who messed up an ankle hold attempt.
8 - 10: Vinay gets the better of the Korean cover defender Young Chang Ko with a running hand touch.
8 - 9: Abhishek Singh gets rid of Vikas Kale for the second time this game. It was a brilliant toe touch that did the trick here.
7 - 9: Two-point raid for Vikas Kandola!!! He executed an excellent escape here. REMINDER: Haryana has never lost a game in which Vikas Kandola has claimed a SUPER-10.
7 - 7: SCORES LEVEL ONCE AGAIN!!! Abhishek Singh sends Vikas Kale to the bench with a perfect running hand touch.
6 - 7: A string of empty raids here. But Haryana Steelers holds an one-point lead over U Mumba right now.
5 - 5: SCORES LEVEL ONCE AGAIN!!! Arjun Deshwal heads to the bench.
5 - 4: Prashanth Kumar Rai is absolutely floored by Sandeep Narwal with a lethal dash.
4 - 4: Athul MS gets a bonus point to level the scores.
3 - 4: Sandeep Narwal with a brilliant tackle. Vinay heads to the bench after an ankle hold.
2 - 4: Bonus plus one point raid for Vikas Kandola! Vikas jumped past Surender Singh to garner the points.
U MUMBA 1 - 1 HARYANA STEELERS: Bonus point for Vikas Kandola to begin the game. And Abhishek Singh returns favour.
ELIMINATOR 2 IS UNDERWAY!
Can Vikas Kandola get the better of Fazel Atrachali? Or will the Iranian do better under pressure? The second eliminator is minutes away.
Now, moving on to the second game of the evening between the U Mumba and the Haryana Steelers.
Pawan Sehrawat, with 20 raid points, once again guides his team past the finish line. The UP Yoddha raiders together had more raid points than Bengaluru Bulls but the individual brilliance of Pawan overpowered them.
BENGALURU BULLS MAKES PRO KABADDI SEASON SEVEN SEMIFINALS IN STYLE!!!!! UP YODDHA LOSES A GAME IT DOMINATED FOR MOST PARTS.
BENGALURU BULLS 48 - 45 UP YODDHA: Rishank sends Amit Sheoran to the bench with an escape. And Pawan jumps past Nitesh Kumar to possibly seal the win for the side. Rishank gets a consolation point at the expense of Mahender Singh.
47 - 43: Bonus point for Rishank Devadiga. SUPER-10 FOR RISHANK AS WELL!
47 - 42: ALL-OUT!!!!! Pawan you superstar!!!!! He evades both Monu Goyat and Shrikant Jadhav in a single raid to get a five-point lead. Bengaluru Bulls has the advantage against UP Yoddha right now.
43 - 42: Bonus plus one point for the substitute Monu Goyat! Ankit was the player out!
43 - 40: SUPER RAID!!! Pawan Sehrawat is carrying his team once again! REVIEW UNSUCCESSFUL FOR UP YODDHA! UP contested that there were only two touches. But the referee's decision stands!
39 - 40: Mahender Singh successfully blocks Surender Gill. What a game!
38 - 40: Two-point raid for UP Yoddha now! Sumit Singh went for the jump but Sumit caught him. HIGH-5 FOR SUMIT!
EXTRA TIME'S SECOND HALF IS UNDERWAY!
38 - 39: Shrikant Jadhav fails in a do-or-die raid. Amit Sheoran absolutely floored him with a double thigh hold. AND THE FIRST HALF OF EXTRA TIME IS OVER!
37 - 39: Sumit Singh executes an amazing running hand touch on Surender Gill to decrease UP's lead.
36 - 39: REVIEW UNSUCCESSFUL FOR THE BULLS! Sumit Singh challenged for bonus and he doesn't get it. In the very next raid, Sumit pushes Rohit Kumar out of bounds with a brutal dash.
BENGALURU BULLS 36 - 38 UP YODDHA: Horrible start for Bengaluru Bulls! Pawan heads to the bench. Rishank Devadiga was the raider. Saurabh Nandal went in for the tackle and Pawan joined him. Both are on the bench now.
AND PRO KABADDI'S FIRST-EVER EXTRA-TIME BEGINS IN AHMEDABAD!
What a game we've had this evening. This is the first-ever tie in Pro Kabaddi League playoffs history. Seven more minutes of extra-time left to play. There will be two halves of three minutes each with a break of one minute in between. If the game is still tied after that we'll have the GOLDEN RAID. Let's see which team performs better under pressure here.
BENGALURU BULLS 36 - 36 UP YODDHA: AND IT'S A TIE!!! EXTRA-TIME NOW!!! Surender Gill brilliantly evades Ankit's ankle hold to level the scores.
TIME-OUT FOR UP YODDHA NOW!
35 - 36: Bengaluru finally takes the lead! SUPER-10 FOR PAWAN!!! Pawan puts in a two-point raid at the expense of Ashu Singh and Amit. Rishank gets a bonus.
34 - 34: SCORES LEVEL!!!! Saurabh Nandal takes out Shrikant Jadhav with an ankle hold once again! Bengaluru coach Randhir gets a green card.
33 - 34: ALL-OUT!!!!! Pawan Sehrawat you beauty!!! He takes out both Rishank Devadiga and Surender Gill with a single raid and completes the formalities.
29 - 34: Shrikant Jadhav makes the long walk back to the bench, due to a successful tackle by Saurabh Nandal.
BENGALURU BULLS COACH RANDHIR HAS TAKEN A TIME-OUT NOW!
28 - 34: UP Yoddha is happy to put in empty raids here. But Sumit Singh gets one more raid touch point at the expense of Nitesh Kumar.
27 - 34: Sumit Singh gets the better of Amit with a running hand touch to reduce the deficit. Rishank puts in a long empty raid.
26 - 34: Brilliant two-point raid by Shrikant Jadhav!!! And Pawan heads back to the bench once again. Mahender Singh is the other player out.
26 - 32: Poor play from Sumit. He over-committed himself and hence gifted a point to Sumit Singh, who has revived Pawan.
SHRIKANT JADHAV HAS COMPLETED 150 POINTS THIS SEASON! AND A TIME-OUT HAS BEEN CALLED.
25 - 32: Shrikant Jadhav evades Amit Sheoran with a jump to increase UP Yoddha's lead.
25 - 31: SUPER TACKLE!!!! Nitesh takes out Pawan again and again and again!!!!! Rishank with the assist here. Six-point lead for the UP Yoddha over the Bengaluru Bulls.
25 - 29: Bonis point for Rishank Devadiga. ONE MORE HIGH-5 FOR UP YODDHA SKIPPER NITESH KUMAR.
25 - 28: Sumit Singh sends Ashu Singh to the bench. But he wanted two points there. However, both teams have exhausted their reviews!
24 - 28: SUPER TACKLE!!!!! Nitesh wins the battle against Pawan yet again! Monu assisted him well after the initial ankle hold. Rishank Devadiga is back on the mat.
24 - 26: UP Yoddha substitute Monu Goyat gets a bonus point.
24 - 25: UP Yoddha down to two men! Pawan executed a good hand touch on Amit.
23 - 25: A point each here! Surender Gill bagged the bonus first and the Rohit Kumar took him out with an ankle hold. REVIEW UNSUCCESSFUL FOR THE BULLS! They had unsuccessfully contested the bonus point call.
22 - 24: One Sumit takes out another! Bengaluru's Sumit Singh executed an excellent toe touch on UP's Sumit.
21 - 24: Shrikant Jadhav fails in a do-or-die raid! Mahender Singh executed a perfect double thigh hold on him.
20 - 24: Amit gets the better of Pawan now! It's the fifth time that Pawan has headed to the bench today. It was a lethal dash that took him out.
20 - 23: Mahender Singh sends Rishank to the bench for the first time today and Pawan is back on the mat.
19 - 23: Rohit Kumar is unable to revive Pawan. Sumit took him out with a thigh hold and the rest of his team joined him in the perfect tackle.
19 - 22: Rishank Devadiga gets one more point with a running hand touch on Ankit.
BENGALURU BULLS 19 - 21 UP YODDHA: Pawan is out! Nitesh is gone as well! What a raid to begin the half. Pawan stepped into the lobby without a touch, while Nitesh and Surender stepped out without a tackle as well.
The second-half begins!
Pawan Sehrawat has once again brought the Bengaluru Bulls back into the game. UP Yoddha was running away with this game but the 'Hi-Flyer' has once again reduced the deficit. The UP Yoddha raiders have put up a combined effort so far.
The first 20 minutes of Eliminator 1 are done and dusted!
BENGALURU BULLS 17 - 20 UP YODDHA: The Bulls are well and truly back into this contest! Rohit Kumar takes out Shrikant Jadhav and Pawan just keeps racking up the points.
15 - 19: REVIEW UNSUCCESSFUL FOR UP! Crazy scenes here! ALL-OUT!!! Pawan Sehrawat got the better of Nitesh Kumar first. He then went in to take out the other defender Harender as well. But Nitesh got up and went to tackle Pawan. But in the end, Pawan, after a long struggle completed the formalities.
11 - 19: Silly do-or-die raid from Surender Gill. He banked on the bonus point. And now Pawan is back on the mat.
10 - 19: SUPER TACKLE!!!! Nitesh gets Pawan one more time! Rishank had claimed a bonus point in the previous raid and Nitesh denies the all-out now.
10 - 16: Rishank Devadiga bagged a bonus point first. Pawan then came in and got the better of Amit.
9 - 15: SUPER RAID! Pawan Sehrawat bags a bonus and three touch points!!!! UP down to just three men on the mat!
5 - 15: First tackle point for the Bulls tonight!
4 - 15: Sumit Singh heads to the bench after a successful tackle from Ashu Singh.
4 - 14: SUBSTITUTION! Bengaluru captain Rohit Kumar comes in now. Will he fill in for an off-colour Pawan today?
4 - 13: Pawan Sehrawat is out one more time! Nitesh Kumar does it once again. Nitesh now has a 5-1 head-to-head record against Pawan. The Bulls are in tatters right now!
4 - 11: ALL-OUT!!!! Bengaluru is struggling big time here! Amit Sheoran is the last player out.
3 - 8: Surender Gill takes out the substitute Vijay Kumar pretty easily with a hand touch.
3 - 7: Sumit Singh bags a bonus point.
2 - 7: One more point for Shrikant! He took out Saurabh Nandal with a kick. Bengaluru down to two men.
2 - 6: Surender Gill executes a perfect jump to evade Mohit Sehrawat.
2 - 5: Pawan heads to the bench! The skipper Nitesh Kumar does it with a successful block.
2 - 4: Shrikant Jadhav gets the better of Mahender Singh with a well-timed escape.
2 - 3: What a mistake! Pawan was out! But left corner Sumit had gone out of bounds before initiating the tackle!
1 - 3: Right raider Surender Gill sends Ankit to the bench. Brilliant start for UP here!
1 - 2: Pawan opens his account with a bonus point.
0 - 2: Shrikant Jadhav increases UP's lead. He took out the left corner Amit Sheoran with a toe touch.
BENGALURU BULLS 0 - 1 UP YODDHA: Bonus point for Rishank Devadiga, UP opens the scoring. Pwan Sehrawat with an empty raid first up.
AND ELIMINATOR 1 is underway!
Bengaluru Bulls has won the toss and it has chosen court. UP Yoddha will raid first. Indian singer Darshan Raval will sing the national anthem.
NOTE: UP Yoddha has five wins in the its last seven games, while Bengaluru Bulls has five losses in the last seven matches.
AND THE PLAYERS ARE OUT!
UP Yoddha's corner duo of skipper Nitesh Kumar and Sumit have both crossed the 70-tackle point mark this season and they will be looking forward to contain the 'Hi-Flyer' Pawan of Bengaluru Bulls today.
However, the side's raiding department has been off-colour this season with only Shrikant Jadhav featuring in the top-25 raiders of the league (based on raid points).
Bengaluru, on the other hand, has been carried into the playoffs by Pawan. The team's second-best raider and captain Rohit Kumar is out injured. Mahender Singh, Saurabh Nandal and Amit Sheoran all have close to 50 tackle points this season but they haven't performed as a unit often.
The Randhir Singh-coached Bengaluru Bulls will make its fourth playoff appearance and the team couldn’t have done it without one man - Pawan Kumar Sehrawat.
READ MORE| Five moments when 'Hi-Flyer' Pawan Sehrawat scaled new heights
AND IT'S FINALLY THE DAY OF PRO KABADDI LEAGUE SEASON SEVEN ELIMINATORS!
In the first match of the evening, defending champion Bengaluru Bulls will take on the UP Yoddha. The winner of that game will face table-topper Dabang Delhi KC in semifinal-1 on October 16 in the same stadium. Today's second match will feature 2015-champion U Mumba and the Haryana Steelers. The winner of that eliminator will take on Bengal Warriors in semifinal-2.
Ahead of Eliminator 1, let's look at few interesting facts from the 2019 Pro Kabaddi League:
- Bengaluru Bulls' Pawan Sehrawat broke Patna Pirates raider Pardeep Narwal's record for most points in a single Pro Kabaddi game - 39 vs Haryana Steelers (October 6). He also completed a record 38 raids in that game.
- Pawan also became just the second player after Pardeep to claim over 300 points in a single Pro Kabaddi season. Pardeep, on the other hand, has done it twice (seasons 5 and 7).
- Dabang Delhi raider Naveen Kumar now has the most Super-10s in a single Pro Kabaddi season - 20 from 22 games. He shattered Pardeep's season five record of 19 from 25 outings.
- Naveen also owns the record of registering the most consecutive Super-10s in Pro Kabaddi history with 19. Both the streaks can still extend further this season with the Delhi side already making the semifinals.
- Naveen and Telugu Titans raider Siddharth Desai became the fastest to reach 400 Pro Kabaddi career points this season. Meanwhile, Pawan became the quickest to cross 500 points in PKL history.
- For the first-time ever in Pro Kabaddi history, three raiders (Pawan, Pardeep and Naveen) have crossed the 250-point mark in the same season.
PREVIEW:
The business end of the Pro Kabaddi season 7 (PKL 2019) is here, with the eliminators set to take place in Ahmedabad on Monday. Dabang Delhi KC and Bengal Warriors, the top two teams, have automatically qualified for the semifinals while the other teams in the top six will play the eliminators to progress to the semis.
Eliminator 1: Bengaluru Bulls vs UP Yoddha
While the Bulls have a better overall record against Yoddha, winning five of their eight meetings, this season has seen UP come out on top in both their encounters.
In the first clash of the season, UP edged Bengaluru 35-33. Though the Bulls outscored Yoddha 22-16 in raid points, they got outscored 15-10 on tackle points while UP got two all-outs. Pawan Sehrawat managed 12 raid points, but no other raider was able to get going.
The teams met again for the second time in the final match of the season’s league stage, when UP won by a bigger margin (45-33) – helped by three all-outs.
Pawan, who starred for the Bulls in both the games, will be hoping to be one the winning side on Monday. Speaking ahead of the eliminator, he said, “The league stages were tough but it allowed us to study our opponents as we played them more than once. We have a strategy in place against UP Yoddha’s strong defensive squad and we will do our best to ensure we retain the title.
His counterpart, Nitesh Kumar, the youngest captain in the league, believes that the team’s two wins in the season will give the players a lot of confidence heading into the eliminator.
“The team has worked and prepared hard to ensure that we give our best against a strong offensive Bengaluru Bulls team,” he said. “During the league stage, we won both games against Bengaluru Bulls which helps our confidence but this one is going to be the toughest and a win will take us into the semifinals.”
Eliminator 2: Haryana Steelers vs U Mumba
In the two times the sides clashed this season, both teams claimed a win each. In the first game, Haryana won 30-27, riding on Vikas Khandola’s impressive performance to take a 16-8 lead into halftime. Helped by substitute Abhishek Singh’s six raid points, U Mumba reduced the deficit but ran of time to complete the comeback.
In the second encounter, U Mumba won 39-33 in Haryana’s final match of the league stage. Fazel Atrachali’s five tackle points, and nine raid points each for Ajinkya Kapre and Dong Geon Lee saw U Mumba register a comfortable win that also helped it finish above the Steelers in the table. Overall, U Mumba has the better head-to-head record with five wins from their eight meetings.
Steelers’ captain Dharmaraj Cheralathan sounded confident ahead of the match. “We have had a good league stage, the team performed well and built on their strengths, which brings a good balance to our team. We won a match and lost the other one against them. For the Eliminator, we will be looking to execute a strategy based on our learnings from the previous games,” the veteran said.
U Mumba’s skipper Fazel Atrachali knows that it is a “do-or-die” match for his team. “During the league stage, if we lose one match, we know we have a chance to go back and work on our mistakes to improve. If we lose tomorrow’s match, our season is over,” said the Iranian skipper. “Haryana is a strong team and they will come with a plan to limit us. But as a team we are confident, we will give our 100 per cent and aim to win the match.”
The match will be available for live streaming on Hotstar and will also be available on Star Network's live broadcast.
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