PKL: Looking back at previous Pro Kabaddi League finals
Season 1: Jaipur Pink Panthers vs U Mumba
Winner: Jaipur Pink Panthers
The Jaipur Pink Panthers emerged victorious in the inaugural season of the Pro Kabaddi League (PKL). The Abhishek Bachhan-owned team, led by the inspirational Anup Kumar, secured the top spot with 54 points. In the first few years of the league, eight teams competed in the Pro Kabaddi League. At the National Sports Club of India in Mumbai, the Pink Panthers defeated U Mumba in the championship game after defeating Patna Pirates in the semifinal. The final score was 35–24. With the highest number of raid points and total points, Anup Kumar earned the season’s MVP.
Season 2: U Mumba vs Bengaluru Bulls
Winner: U Mumba
After losing out on the Pro Kabaddi title the previous season, U Mumba finally received their just prize in the second PKL season. They defeated Bengaluru Bulls 36-30 in a thrilling PKL 2015 championship game that saw Shabeer Bappu’s clutch play seal the victory for U Mumba. Mumbai had taken the most tackle points (196) and the Do-or-Die tackle points (81), during the second season. Even though Mumbai had prevailed in the summit match, Kashiling Adake of Bengaluru had the most points.
Season 3: Patna Pirates vs U Mumba
Winner: Patna Pirates
Two factors made the third PKL season historic. First off, the Pro Kabaddi League administration chose in 2016 to hold two seasons every year, each lasting five weeks and featuring eight teams. Second, the most successful Pro Kabaddi team in the tournament’s history, Patna Pirates, had emerged in PKL 3.
The season began with a fierce but short-lived rivalry between Bengaluru and Patna, but then a certain Pardeep Narwal raised his game, and the Pirates never had to look back. As Patna upset U Mumba, the reigning champions, 31–28 to win their first-ever PKL championship, Narwal finished the season with the most raid points (116). Sandeep Narwal lagged Pardeep in terms of tackle points (53), but Rohit Kumar was declared the season’s MVP. That season, the star-studded Patna Pirates team had amassed an incredible 324 raid points and thirty all-outs.
Season 4: Patna Pirates vs Jaipur Pink Panthers
Winner: Patna Pirates
After an incredible third season, the Patna Pirates were unable to hold onto their MVP from the previous campaign, Rohit Kumar, but Pardeep Narwal was still a member of the squad. With 133 raid points under Pardeep Narwal’s credit, the unrelenting raider guided Patna to their second consecutive PKL victory with a one-man show this time. Patna finished the league stages with 52 points, top of the points table.
In the season 4 decider, the Pirates played the Jaipur Pink Panthers, the PKL season one champion. Narwal scored 16 points in a raid to assist his team win the summit match 37-29. In addition to Narwal, Patna had 52 tackle points at the end of the fourth season from defensive standout Fazel Atrachali. The first team to win the PKL again was Patna.
Season 5: Patna Pirates vs Gujarat Fortune Giants
Winner: Patna Pirates
With four new clubs entering the competition, things were about to get tricky for the Patna Pirates after they had won two straight PKL crowns. But in the face of difficulty, Pardeep Narwal chose to step it up a notch, leading Patna to an incredible third straight championship. After finishing the group rounds with 71 points, a resolute Patna team defeated the Bengal Warriors, Puneri Paltan, and Haryana Steelers to get to their third straight PKL final.
In the PKL 5 championship game, Patna took on Gujarat Giants and easily defeated them 55-38 to take home the trophy. Even though Patna finished the season with a record-breaking 1050 points, it was known as Pardeep Narwal’s season. Once more, he was named the season’s MVP after finishing first with the most number of raid points (369), super 10s (19), and super raids (18). Narwal’s legendary 8-point raid against Haryana this season will go on forever.
Season 6: Bengaluru Bulls vs Gujarat Fortune Giants
Winner: Bengaluru Bulls
In PKL season 6, former Patna star Rohit Kumar led Bengaluru Bulls to their first Pro Kabaddi title, marking the end of the Patna Pirates’ illustrious period. But the reason for it was that Bengaluru had discovered a response to Pardeep Narwal in the extraordinary Pawan Sehrawat. With 271 raid points, the big player finished the season with the most points. The Bulls advanced to the championship game after defeating Gujarat Giants in Qualifier 1 after leading Zone B with 13 wins out of 22 games. Sehrawat proved to be the deciding factor between Bengaluru and Gujarat in the final, as they were not as effective as Patna. In the end, he scored 22 raid points.
Season 7: Bengal Warriors vs Dabang Delhi
Winner: Dabang Delhi
The entire team’s work helped the Bengal Warriors win their first-ever PKL championship. The team overcame Dabang Delhi KC in the PKL final without relying on individual efforts, in contrast to Patna Pirates and Bengaluru Bulls. It was the first time either side had advanced to the PKL final in seven years.
Bengal’s best player in the summit match was Iran’s Mohammad Esmaeil Nabibakhsh, who scored 10 points, while Maninder Singh was a consistent scorer for the team, totaling 205 raid points all season long. Aside from them, Baldev Singh and Rinku Narwal, who got 66 and 64 tackle points, respectively, stole the show. Bengal’s comprehensive effort is duly evident in the fact that they were forced to play Delhi without Maninder, their top raider.
Season 8: Dabang Delhi vs Patna Pirates
Winner: Dabang Delhi
Due to the worldwide epidemic, the Pro Kabaddi League gained prominence again after a two-year hiatus, and it concluded most dramatically. The former league leaders Patna Pirates appeared to be reaching their peak once more, but Dabang Delhi, the runners-up from the previous season, had other ideas. Even though Pawan Sehrawat finished PKL 8 with the most points, Naveen Kumar was named MVP after his 207 raid points in 17 games helped Delhi advance to the championship game and defeat Patna Pirates, 37-36 in an exciting battle to become the Pro Kabaddi League winners.
Season 9: Jaipur Pink Panthers vs Puneri Paltan
Winner: Jaipur Pink Panthers
In the Season 9 Final, the Jaipur Pink Panthers defeated Puneri Paltan 33-29 to win their second Pro Kabaddi title. With six raid points apiece from Arjun Deshwal and Ajith Kumar in the offence, along with a High 5 from skipper Sunil Kumar, the inaugural champions were able to reclaim their title in the ninth season.
With 296 raid points, Arjun Deshwal, the Most Valuable Player (MVP) of Season 9, topped the raiding statistics. Conversely, the Jaipur Pink Panthers discovered a standout defender in Ankush, who recorded the highest number of tackle points (89) of any rookie in PKL history. With 279 raid points, Bharat of the Bengaluru Bulls was named the season’s best raider.
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