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 Tamil Thalaivas and Bengaluru Bulls.
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Summary: Pawan Sehrawat's Bengaluru Bulls suffered its fifth loss in last six matches. Surjeet Singh's Tamil Thalaivas made sure that Pawan was kept off the mat for as long as possible and then didn't let the rest of the Bulls raiders settle. Bulls were struggling to such an extent that they did not even reach the double-figure mark at half-time. The same script followed in the second half eventually resulting in a huge win for the Thalaivas. Ajinkya Pawar picked up a Super 10 and defender Sagar Rathee got his seventh High-5 of the season. With this win, the Thalaivas are at ninth while the Bulls stay at second.
FULL-TIME: Tamil Thalaivas wins the Southern derby with a convincing 42-24 victory over Pawan Sehrawat's Bengaluru Bulls.
42-24: SUPER TACKLE!!! Pawan Sehrawat with a massive back hold stops Ajinkya. Pawan looks in some pain holding his finger.
42-21: SUPER 10 FOR AJINKYA!!! A deserving one for the in-form raider.
41-21: Himanshu joins the party with an ankle hold on Ranjith.
40-20: Do-or-die raid for Ajinkya and he gets a touch point off Aman on the left corner who went for the ankle hold.
39-20: HIGH FIVE FOR SAGAR RATHEE!!! The defender gets his 7th High5 of the season as he takes down Bharat.
38-20: A brilliant double ankle hold by Mohit brings Pawan down to the ground.
37-20: Pawan is pumped-up. He goes in quick, Abishek tries the ankle hold but the Hi-Flyer is too quick for him to get a tight grip.
37-19: Manjeet goes in for the raid, tries to take his time but Bulls show urgency and try to force him off the mat unsuccessfully.
36-19: Another quick raid from Pawan and he gets a touch point off Surjeet who tried to push him off the mat.
36-18: Looks like I have jinxed him. It was a do-or-die raid for Ajinkya Pawar who this time fell into the trap of the Bulls defense.
36-17: Wow! That was super quick. Pawan Sehrawat went in for the raid and came back in five seconds after assuming he had got the bonus. The decision went against him. The Bulls have wasted their review asking for the bonus.
Final strategic time out. Five minutes to go.
36-17: Pawan Sehrawat goes in for the raid and gets bonus from under the nose of Sagar who gets drawn into going for the ankle hold and provides a touch point too. However, Tamil Thalaivas has used the review challenging the bonus but it is an unsuccessful one.
36-15: Cover combo of Mohit and Abishek does well to push Bharat off the mat. Bharat did get a bonus too.
35-14: Do-or-die raid, Ajinkya Pawar, touch point. Repeat, please. The error comes from Deepak.
34-14: And this time he sends Sagar Rathee back to the bench. Great two raids from Bharat.
34-13: Better from the Bulls. Bharat goes in for the raid and gets a touch point off Surjeet.
34-12: ALL OUT!!! Manjeet does not need to do much as the sole Bulls player on the mat surrenders.
Coach Udayakumar has told Tamil Thalaivas to play on the do-or-die raid to slow down the game.
First strategic time out. Ten minutes to go. Another All Out for the Bulls is almost a surety now. Thalaivas have been extremely dominant today.
31-12: Did I say two? Make that one. Chandran Ranjith, who had been subbed in for Mohit, has been mobbed by the Thalaivas.
30-12: Bulls down to two man. Pawan Sehrawat has been mercilessly tackled by the Thalaivas defense.
29-12: Manjeet puts in a successful raid as he takes a touch point off Jaideep.
28-12: Brutal thigh hold by Sagar Rathee takes down Bharat.
27-12: Intelligent. Manjeet escaped Mahendra's ankle hold but did not go over the line since Rohit Kumar was close enough. The tall raider used his reach and got one more touch point.
25-12: A running hand touch off Athul MS for Bharat revives Pawan.
25-11: Sheer strength of Bharat helps him negotiate Sahil's block and take him along with him to his side of the mat.
24-10: Do-or-die raid for Chandran Ranjith, no bonus on offer so he tries for the touch. He does not get it and enter the lobbies. Surjeet who pushed him off the mat has been ruled self-out.
23-9: Do-or-die raid and Ajinkya Pawar thinks he has the bonus when he returns to his side of the mat. The decision goes against him. Tamil Thalaivas has asked for the review and it is a successful one.
22-9: This time Pawan gets away as he uses the chest of Abishek to reach the mid-line.
22-8: Manjeet picks up a bonus.
The southern derby has been one-sided so far as the Tamil Thalaivas has made sure that Pawan Sehrawat, Bengaluru Bulls' captain and star raider, stays off the mat for as long as possible and then dominated the game.
HALF-TIME: Tamil Thalaivas 21-8 Bengaluru Bulls
21-8: Ranjith comes in for the next raid, Mohit goes for the block but fails. Thankfully for Thalaivas, no one else was close to come for the assist as Ranjith was close to the mid-line.
21-7: Monstrous. The chain of Ajinkya and Sagar Rathee traps Pawan and sends him back to the bench. Again!
20-6: ALL OUT!!! Thalaivas have done it again. Deepak Narwal comes in for the raid and gets mobbed without winning even a bonus.
16-6: Manjeet has not had a big day in offense but don't worry, he still contributes in defense with an ankle hold on Bharat.
15-6: Do-or-die raid and Ajinkya, a match made in heaven. The raider gets a touch point off sub Mahendra on the left corner.
14-6: Sahil Rathee, arguably the best defender this season, earns a tackle point as he takes care of a slow and careless Ranjith.
13-6: Lovely work, Ajinkya. The raider gets a touch point off Jaideep to put further pressure on the Bulls.
12-6: Thalaivas double the lead as the defense takes down Pawan.
11-6: ALL OUT!!! Surjeet, you beast! Deeapk Narwal, last Bulls player on the mat, comes in for the raid, does not even get a bonus and then Surjeet pushes him off the mat without the support of anyone else.
7-6: Do-or-die raid for Deepak Narwal but he gets nothing before being hammered off the mat.
6-6: Do-or-die raid for Ajinkya but he is a master of that. A quick touch off Jaideep and he is back to the mid-line pretty quickly.
5-6: All Bulls raiders on the bench now. A massive block by Sahil stops Ranjith.
4-6: Do-or-die raid for Bharat, he looks certain that he has got the bonus and walks back. As it turns out, he was wrong and has been sent back to the bench.
3-6: Ajinkya Pawar goes in for the raid and comes back with a toe touch off the dangerous Pawan Sehrawat. Clinical.
2-6: Another unsuccessful raid for Manjeet. The Bulls defense has changed its structure a bit and it is working.
2-5: Ranjith draws in the error from Sahil who goes in for the block but fails.
2-4: Abishek gets redemption. A massive dash pushes Pawan Sehrawat off the mat.
1-4: Pawan has been revived pretty quickly. Manjeet was in for the do-or-die raid but the Bulls defense trapped him brilliantly.
1-3: Pawan Sehrawat picks up a bonus but post that, Sahil on the left corner puts in a great ankle hold.
0-2: Diving hand touch by Pawan sends Abishek off the mat. Hi-Flyer starts in style.
0-1: Interesting. It is not Pawan Sehrawat but Ranjith who is in for the first raid and picks up a bonus.
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8:40pm: LINE UPS!
Tamil Thalaivas: Surjeet, Sahil Gulia, Sagar Rathee, Mohit Jakhar, Abishek, Ajinkya Pawar, Manjeet
Bengaluru Bulls: Pawan Sehrawat, Mayur, Rohit Kumar, Ranjith, Bharat, Mohit Sehrawat, Jaideep
8:35pm: Bengaluru Bulls has one win and four losses from its last five games. The Bulls are scoring plenty of points but giving up a lot more. The side has conceded a mammoth 38.2 points on average in its last five matches. The raiding unit, sparring Pawan Sehrawat, has not been lethal and only Bharat has shown some promise. The defence, too, has been poor and has been guilty of too many advanced tackles. Coach Randhir Sehrawat will need his team to win as many games as possible to ensure it retain its spot in the top six.
8:30pm: Since an impressive victory over the Haryana Steelers, Tamil Thalaivas has gone five games without a win and has slipped to 10th on the points table. The defence, which had been its strength, has lost form and have averaged only 9.2 tackle points in the last five matches. Other than Manjeet, no other raider has found much success either. The Thalaivas are in dire need of a victory to end its poor run and keep its hopes of a playoff spot alive.
8:25pm: The Jaipur Pink Panthers are thrashing the Patna Pirates in the first game of the evening. Follow that game live here -
8:20pm: 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! Support your favourite athlete/team here .
8:15pm: Another helpful reminder of the rules. If you need it!
8:10pm: Rafael Nadal defeated Daniil Medvedev just a short while ago to win the Australian Open and a record 21st Grand Slam title. You can re-live the final here -
8PM: Hello folks! Welcome to our live coverage of the second and final game of the evening between Tamil Thalaivas and Bengaluru Bulls. Before we get to that, here are the results from the last three days -
January 29: Dabang Delhi crushes Gujarat Giants 41-22, tops table
January 28: Patna Pirates steamrolls Tamil Thalaivas 52-24
January 27: Puneri Paltan hammers UP Yoddha 44-38
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