Welcome to Sportstar's coverage of the Pro Kabaddi League. This is Nihit Sachdeva and I will be taking you through today's PKL 8 match between U Mumba and Jaipur Pink Panthers.
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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:
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Follow my colleague Shyam Vasudevan's live coverage of the second match of the evening between Patna Pirates and Bengaluru Bulls here:
Summary: In what was possibly a do-or-die match for both Jaipur Pink Panthers and U Mumba, it was the inaugural champion Jaipur that came on top. The match started with both teams matching blow for blow before Jaipur pulled ahead and inflicted the All Out. U Mumba did some damage control as the score read 17-14 in favour of Jaipur at half-time. At 17-18, U Mumba was close to inflicting an All Out on Jaipur but a Super Raid from Brijendra Choudhary turned it around for Jaipur. In fact, this kept happening through out the match as whenever U Mumba came close to sweeping off the entire Jaipur team, someone would pull of a Super Raid or a Super Tackle for Jaipur. In the latter stages with Jaipur's victory almost guaranteed, U Mumba lost all hope and went for needless tackled eventually damaging its score difference further. Arjun Deshwal (17 raid points) was the star of the night for the men in pink. For U Mumba, Ajith Kumar did clinch a Super 10 (11 raid points) but a lacklustre performance in defence from his side meant that all that effort was for nothing. With this win, Jaipur Pink Panthers has climbed to sixth while U Mumba stays at ninth on the points table.
28-44: Ajith Kumar goes in for the final raid of the match and gets trapped by the Jaipur defenders.
28-43: SUPER RAID!!!! Five-point raid for Arjun Deshwal as he picks up a bonus and then a hopeless U Mumba defence tries to pile on him but he has been in such form tonight that it feels that as soon as he gets a touch, there's some sort of magnetic force applied by the mid-line that pulls him.
28-38: Quick raid from Ajith as he gets a touch on Brijendra.
28-37: A desperate back hold attempted by Fazel and Arjun escapes without much fuss.
27-37: Advanced tackle from Vishal and Ajith Kumar easily makes it to mid-line. Jaipur has used the review basically saying that Vishal had pushed Ajith off the mat before he got his right foot across the mid-line. REVIEW SUCCESSFUL.
27-36: ALL OUT!!! This looks done. Substitute raider Kamlesh manages to pick the bonus but then goes deep to take a touch off Sandeep who comes in with a great ankle hold.
26-33: Do-or-die raid but Arjun gets the touch on Shivam with an easy back kick. U Mumba down to one.
Three minutes to go. U Mumba has two men on the mat but they have somehow not allowed Arjun to take a touch point in the last two raids and therefore, the next raid is a do-or-die one for the men in pink.
26-32: Another bonus picked by Shivam.
25-32: Shivam picks up a bonus.
Final strategic time out. Five minutes to go. Tough task for U Mumba to come back from eight points down.
24-32: Things haven't improved much for Abhishek Singh. Another unsuccessful raid as the Jaipur defence pushes him off the mat.
24-31: SUPER RAID!!! Arjun Deshwal gets his Super 10 in style as Fazel, Rahul and Harendra all are unable to push him off the mat before he gets his hand across the mid-line.
24-28: Do-or-die raid for U Mumba, substitute raider Shivam goes in and manages to win the touch point as Pavan's solo tackle wasn't good enough.
23-28: Do-or-die raid for Jaipur, Sachin goes in and gets mobbed by the U Mumba defence. He had jumped over Rahul who came in for the block but Fazel decided that he was not going to let Sachin escape.
22-28: SUPER TACKLE!!! Now Ajith falls down. Tight double ankle hold from Pavan TR.
First strategic time out. Ten minutes to go.
22-26: SUPER TACKLE!!! Just two on the mat for Jaipur but Nitin Rawal comes up with a brilliant block to stop Abhishek all on his own.
22-25: Brijendra avoids the All Out yet again with a toe touch on Rinku. He had taken a bonus as well.
22-23: Ajith reduces Jaipur to one as he lures Deepak into the ankle hold and escapes.
21-23: Bonus for Brijendra.
21-22: SUPER 10 FOR AJITH KUMAR!!!! He makes it past Sandeep's block and a failed assist from Vishal.
19-22: Superb dash from Rinku and he sends Sachin flying off the mat.
18-22: Do-or-die raid for U Mumba, Kamlesh comes in and gets a touch on Sandeep with the kick but it is a little too deep and he has been brought down.
18-21: Much better from U Mumba as it gets the big fish. A double ankle hold from Rahul Sethpal and he brings down Arjun Deshwal.
17-21: SUPER RAID!!! Brijendra came in for the raid with just one other player left on Jaipur's side. Rinku and others came in for the tackle but since it was a bit too advanced, Brijendra somehow got his hand past the mid-line.
17-18:
SUPER RAID!!!! A massive raid for U Mumba and it is Ajith Kumar who does it. He first got a toe touch on Deepak Singh and then escaped past the incoming Brijendra and Sachin.
Jaipur has used its review saying that two points should be awarded as there was no touch from Brijendra and it is right.
15-18: Error from Harendra in defence as he goes solo and Arjun gets the touch point.
15-17: Abhishek Singh comes in for the raid, takes his time and eventually gets a touch on Sandeep's hair on the left corner. Brijendra should have done better to go for the tackle in that situation.
The next 20 minutes could potentially seal the fate of one of these two teams as far as Pro Kabaddi League's this season is concerned as a defeat here would most probably end the play-off hopes. U Mumba needs to stop letting Arjun Deshwal from picking bonus points for fun if it is to have a chance. On the other hand, Jaipur, which has looked the better side, just needs to keep a strong defence and let Arjun handle the raiding.
HALF-TIME: U Mumba 14-17 Jaipur Pink Panthers
14-17: Finally, U Mumba goes hard on Arjun and flattens him on the mat. And that's that for the first half.
13-17: Abhishek Singh goes in for the raid, looks for the running hand touch on the right and slips. Easy tackle for Jaipur.
13-16: Chain tackle from Rinku and Ajinkya traps Sachin Narwal who tried to escape through dubki.
12-16: Big raid from Abhishek Singh as he wipes off two Jaipur players off the mat.
10-16: Bonus for Arjun Deshwal.
10-15: Bonus for Ajith Kumar.
9-15: ALL OUT!!! Rahul Sethpal surrenders in front of Arjun in order to save time.
9-12: Do-or-die raid for U Mumba, substitute raider Kamlesh goes in, gets trapped in the thigh hold but still looks like the mid-line is in his reach. Nevertheless, tackle point for Jaipur.
8-11: Do-or-die raid for Jaipur, three players on the mat for U Mumba and Arjun goes in. Fazel executes the ankle hold but the whistle makes it clear that he had his hand in the lobbies before the tackle.
8-10: Lovely defence from Jaipur. Poor Shivam could not do much except surrender.
8-9: Sachin Narwal goes in and claims a running hand touch on Harendra on the right corner as he enters the lobbies and makes it to his side of the mat. The official does give the decision in his favour. However, U Mumba has used its review challenging the call and asking for self-out for Sachin. REVIEW UNSUCCESSFUL.
8-8: Ajith Kumar jumps over Nitin to avoid the block but the second line of Jaipur's defence makes sure he does not escape.
8-7: Beautiful raid by Arjun. He confused U Mumba defence with his speed and eventually took a touch off Abhishek Singh who could not retreat in time.
8-6: Abhishek Singh goes in for the next raid, gets a touch on Vishal on the left corner and then somehow makes it to mid-line despite a strong dash from Brijendra.
6-6: Timely run from the right corner by Brijendra to block Ajith from the back. Smart defending.
6-5: Another bonus for Arjun Deshwal.
6-4: Do-or-die raid for U Mumba, Abhishek goes in but does not need to do much as Sandeep on the left corner steps out of bounds in the effort to avoid the touch.
5-4: Arjun picks up a bonus.
5-3: Bonus for Ajith.
4-3: Do-or-die raid for Pink Panthers but no worries as Arjun easily gets a toe touch on Fazel. Cool as you like.
4-2: SUPER RAID!!! Excellent effort from Ajith. He picked up another bonus and forced the right corner to go for the ankle hold, escaped that and also negotiated another defender's dash to reach the mid-line.
1-2: Ajith Kumar picks up a bonus.
0-2: Abhishek Singh comes in for U Mumba's first raid and it is Brijendra who stands like a wall and blocks him before others come for the assist.
0-1: Arjun Deshwal comes in for the opening raid against his former side and gets a sliding toe touch on Rahul Sethpal.
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TOSS - U Mumba wins the toss and selects right side of the court. Jaipur Pink Panthers to raid first.
7:25pm: LINE-UPS!!!
U Mumba: Abhishek Singh, Rahul Sethpal, Harendra Kumar, Shivam, V Ajith Kumar, Fazel Atrachali (c), Rinku
Subs: Baljinder Singh, Ajinkya Kapre, Sunil Siddhgavali, Kamlesh, Prathap S
Jaipur Pink Panthers: Arjun Deshwal, Deepak Singh, Vishal Lather, Sachin Narwal, Nitin Rawal, Brijendra Singh, Sandeep Dhull (c)
Subs: Deepak Niwas Hooda, Amirhossein Mohammad, Amit Nagar, Pavan TR, Ashok
7:20pm: Head-to-head stats: Matches played - 18, Matches won by U Mumba - 10, Matches won by Jaipur Pink Panthers - 6, Tied matches - 2, Last meeting: U Mumba won 37-28
7:10pm: Jaipur Pink Panthers finds itself in a similar spot. It is ninth on the points table, five points behind sixth-placed Gujarat Giants, which has played a game more and has a slightly better score difference. The Pink Panthers’ two straight losses have left them on the brink of elimination from playoff contention. Jaipur is in a must-win situation and will need its stars to step up and get the job done against its arch-rival tonight.
7pm: U Mumba’s 37-26 defeat to the Haryana Steelers in its previous outing has jeopardised its playoff aspirations. It has slipped to eighth on the points table and will have to win all its remaining matches to stand a chance of finishing in the top six. U Mumba’s defence had one of their worst outings of the season against the Steelers, as they managed only four tackle points. With their hopes hanging by a thread, U Mumba’s raiding unit and defence will have to work in tandem and secure a win if they want to extend their season beyond the next three matches.
6:50pm: The 2022 edition of the Sportstar Aces Awards is back and we are celebrating the marvellous year for Indian Sports that 2021 was. From Neeraj Chopra and the other Olympic and Paralympic medallists to the Indian cricket team, we have a bunch of nominees who need your vote to win! Click here to VOTE!
6:40pm: Season 2 of our special series Kings Of Kabaddi is back. Our first episode features the imperious all-rounder Aslam Inamdar from the Puneri Paltan side. Check out the promo here
6 :35pm: In case if you're new to this sport, here's a simple explainer that covers all the rules of the game and the various terms such as 'All Out', 'Do-or-die' and 'Super Tackle'-
6 :30pm: Hello folks and welcome to our PKL coverage for the day! The first game of the evening will see U Mumba take on Jaipur Pink Panthers. Before we get to that, here's a recap of what went down in the PKL over the last three days -
February 14:
February 13:
February 12:
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