Welcome to Sportstar's coverage of the Pro Kabaddi League. This is Shyam Vasudevan and I will be taking you through today's PKL 8 match between Bengal Warriors and Haryana Steelers.
Alright then, that brings us to the end of our Pro Kabaddi League coverage for the day. We will be back tomorrow. See you then!
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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Haryana Steelers storms to a superb win over Bengal Warriors with Meetu Mahender emerging as the star of the game. The youngster was just too quick for the Warriors defence and picked up a well-deserved Super 10, while his skipper Vikash Kandola chipped in with nine points. The Steelers defence was also on song with Jaideep, Mohit and Surender doing well.
We head into our second game of the evening where the Jaipur Pink Panthers take on Puneri Paltan. Join me on the live blog here -
FULL-TIME! Haryana Steelers makes a stirring comeback to defeat defending champion Bengal Warriors 41-37.
37-41 Vikash bags a point off his last raid and that's the win!
36-40 That's almost a replay of what happened last time - Surender once again makes a silly tackle and is undone by Nabibakhsh.
35-40 Maninder nearly eliminates half of the Steelers' defence but runs into a human wall in Ravi on his way back and there's no getting past him! Warriors are down to two men.
35-39 Maninder bags a bonus point but his side needs a lot more than that!
34-39 Two points for Vikash and this might just be the game! He gets a touch on Sachin and lands a wily kick on Abozar just before he get past the mid-line.
34-37 Surender was told to defend in a chain by coach Rakesh but decides to make a solo tackle on Nabibakhsh and gets eliminated in the process.
Haryana Steelers coach Rakesh Sharma says:"Do not avoid the Bengal Warriors raiders, make the tackles. Take all 30 seconds when you go to raid. The game is in our hands."
33-37 SUPER 10 FOR MEETU! The youngster has been an absolute menace for Bengal Warriors today and continues to torment them by getting a running hand touch on Darshan.
31-36 Sachin comes to Darshan's rescue just in the nick of time as they combine to tackle Rohit. That will revive Maninder.
30-36 Amit makes a schoolboy error to gift Meetu an easy point.
Five minutes to go and the Steelers have a five-point lead. Will that be enough to take them over the line?
29-34 SUPER 10 for Maninder! But he's tackled by the Steelers defence and will have to head back to the bench. This is Maninder's fifth consecutive Super 10.
29-32 Abozar waited and waited and waited before leaping into a phenomenal ankle hold on Vikash. Great stuff from the right corner.
27-32 ALL OUT FOR HARYANA STEELERS! Mohit takes down Maninder and the Steelers have a five-point cushion.
26-29 Meetu is simply cleaning up the Warriors and Maninder is the only man left!
25-28 Vijin comes off the bench and makes a tackle on Meetu that leads to him walking back to the bench. The Bengal Warriors are down to two men!
24-27 Meetu Mahender should be re-named the Flash. He's just so quick! He gets a lightning fast toe-touch on Nabibakhsh to restore his side's three-point lead.
24-26 SUPER TACKLE! It's the Iranian combination of Abozar and Nabibakhsh that gets the job done as they pull off a stunning tackle on Vikash.
22-26 Maninder picks up Surender, after what seems like forever.
I reckon Meetu will be in huge demand if he tries out for an Indian Super League club! That was some kick.
20-25 Another point in the bag for Meetu - he runs the breadth of the court and lands a solid kick on Amit.
20-24 That's a gorgeous toe-touch from Meetu! He extends his leg to the hilt and catches Darshan on the toe.
20-23 Fantastic work from Nabibakhsh. He ducked under Vikash's kick earlier and then threw a perfect ankle hold to relegate the Steelers captain to the bench.
19-23 The Steelers defence has been banking on Jaideep today and he delivers yet again by tackling Sukesh.
18-22 Good pressure from Vikash. Sukesh lets go of Abozar, who was in the chain with him, and the Iranian steps off the court.
18-21 A string of empty raids from Nabibakhsh, Meetu and Sukesh and the Steelers remain three points ahead.
18-19 Haryana Steelers has taken the lead as Mohit goes in with a dash and Jaideep and Surender come to his aid in tackling Maninder.
18-18 ALL OUT! Maninder Singh was the last Bengal Warriors player on the court and the Steelers have inflicted the All Out. What a start to the second half!
HALF-TIME! Bengal Warriors has a slender three-point lead but has only one man on court and is staring at an All Out! Haryana Steelers got off to a slow start but made a remarkably well after being All Out-ed early on.
18-15 Absolutely brilliant from Meetu! He gets rid of both the Iranians in Abozar and Nabibakhsh and the Bengal Warriors are down to one man!
18-13 The right side of Haryana Steelers defence has been its biggest weakness this season and Maninder makes the most of that - he gets the better of Mohit.
16-13 That's a rare error from Sachin as he's undone by Meetu Mahender.
16-12 SUPER TACKLE! Sachin and Nabibakhsh wrestle Vikash to the mat and have picked up two super-important points. More importantly, that brings Maninder back on the mat.
13-12 It's all one-way traffic here! Jaideep launches into a stunning tackle to deny Sukesh. Warriors down to two men!
13-11 Vikash has finally regained his mojo and lands a fine back-kick to eliminate Darshan.
13-10 Excellent bit of skill from Vikash. He skips past Abozar's tackle and then ducks beneath Amit to pick up two crucial points.
13-8 Surender is back on the mat and traps Maninder with a superbly-timed ankle hold.
13-7 ALL OUT FOR BENGAL WARRIORS! Vinay, the substitute, strangely straight at Darshan and that ends his raid.
10-7 Ravi Kumar pretty much gives away the easiest of points to Maninder and the Steelers are down to one man.
9-6 Nabibakhsh gets the better of Jaideep this time around as he twists and turns his way out of the latter's meek ankle hold.
8-6 Rohit is on a do-or-die raid and he's up against a seven-man Warriors defence. It ends with him flattened on the mat by Sachin, who's picked up his third tackle point inside the opening 10 minutes.
7-6 SUPER TACKLE! Jaideep has been superb in Super Tackle situations this season and he does ever-so-well to block Nabibakhsh with a double thigh hold.
7-4 Maninder outfoxes Surender and follows it up with a glare towards the veteran left corner. This is a rivalry we got to keep our eyes on!
6-4 Sachin Vittala is at it again! Vikash was on a do-or-die and Sachin leaped into a stunning back hold to tackle the Steelers' captain.
5-4 Surender Nada joins the party with a mighty ankle hold on Nabibakhsh.
5-3 Sachin with a superb tackle! The left corner grabs on to Meetu with a superb ankle hold.
4-3 Maninder strikes on his third raid as he gets a running hand touch on Mohit.
2-2 Nabibakhsh picks up a bonus point on his first raid.
1-2 Maninder has been tackled yet again and it's Jaideep who gets rid of him this time.
1-1 Abozar is in the thick of things right away as he flattens Rohit Gulia. Abozar celebrates by flaunting his claws.
0-1 Maninder is taken out by the Steelers defence right away!
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Haryana Steelers has won the toss and chosen the left side of the court, Bengal Warriors will raid first.
7:30pm: LINE UPS!
Haryana Steelers: Vikash Kandola, Meetu Sharma, Rohit Gulia, Surender Nada, Jaideep Dahiya, Mohit Nandal, Ravi Kumar
Bengal Warriors: Maninder Singh, Darshan J, Amit Nirwal, Sukesh Hegde, Mohammed Nabibakhsh, Abozar Mighani, Sachin Vittala
7:20pm: Haryana Steelers had a poor start as it lost three of its first four games. But coach Rakesh Kumar’s side made a comeback thereafter and is unbeaten in its last two games. The Steelers’ raiding trio of Vikash Kandola, Meetu and Rohit Gulia has looked sharp, while the defence has also stepped up and did very well in the last game against U Mumba. The side will need a lot more of that to get past Bengal Warriors today.
7:15pm: Bengal Warriors comes into today's game on the back of a 31-28 win over the Jaipur Pink Panthers. It was a match that snapped the side's three-game losing run. Mohammad Nabibakhsh and Maninder Singh combined to score 23 of the Bengal Warriors’ 31 points on the night, showcasing just how crucial they are to the team’s success. The two will have to link up and fire again today and the defence will also need to support them.
7:05pm: The 2022 edition of the Sportstar Aces Awards are back and we are celebrating the marvelous 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! Support your favourite athlete/team here.
6:55pm: If you're still new to the PKL caravan, fret not - we've got you covered. Here's an explainer that simplifies all the rules and terminologies associated with PKL -
6:45pm: Hey folks and welcome to our Pro Kabaddi League coverage for the day. Before we discuss today's fixtures, let's quickly recap the last four days. Here's everything you need to know about the PKL since the turn of the year -
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