Pro Kabaddi League 8: 2022 starts with three back to back ties

Bengaluru Bulls and U Mumba failed to register victories on Day 11 of the tournament.

U Mumba and U.P Yoddha played out a tightly-fought 28-28 tie in Match 25 of Pro Kabaddi League Season 8 at the Sheraton Grand Whitefield, Bengaluru. Both sets of defenders, especially Yoddha’s Sumit (6 tackle points), made life difficult for the raiders as big names Pardeep Narwal and Abhishek Singh failed to make an impact. Mumbai had a one-point lead going into the final minute but a mistake by their captain Fazel Atrachali handed Yoddha an opportunity to tie the match.

The spotlights before the match were on U Mumba captain Fazel Atrachali and his nemesis Pardeep Narwal of Yoddha. The Mumbai left corner had scored the most tackle points (15) against Pro Kabaddi League ’s all-time highest points scorer Pardeep Narwal. But it was Mumbai’s right corner Rinku who started brilliantly in the defence tackling Pardeep Narwal successfully in his first attempt. In fact, Rinku picked up 4 tackle points in a see-sawing first half dominated by the defenders.

At the other end, Sumit decimated all the Mumbai raiders who came looking for points in his left corner. With Nitesh Kumar joining in the act, it was like UP Yoddha duo had rediscovered the form that made them successful in Pro Kabaddi League Season 7. Abhishek Singh had a poor first half and was often caught static on the left side of Yoddha. 

But whenever UP Yoddha sniffed an ALL OUT, U Mumba produced some magic to stay in the match. Mohsen Maghsoudlou and Rinku produced successive Super Tackles while V Ajith Kumar managed a Super Raid when the Mumbai team had just one on the mat. The closely-fought first half of this Pro Kabaddi League match ended 16-13 in U Mumba’s favour.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qCk8Ez6Wd60

Rahul Sethpal’s Super Tackle delayed the eventual ALL OUT for Mumbai but U.P. finally got it in the 6th minute of the half to level the scores 19-19 and give Sumit his High 5. Sumit’s confidence seemed to have worked its magic on his teammates as well with Surender Gill picking up a 3-point Super Raid. Interestingly, Pardeep Narwal was substituted by Yoddha close to the 10th minute for Shrikant Jadhav.

Mumbai’s Ajith Kumar ensured U.P. didn’t run away with the match with clever raiding. Fazel produced a crucial tackle on Surender Gill and Abhishek Singh picked up a touch-point to give Mumbai a lead with a minute remaining. But Yoddha’s Ankit capitalised on a mistake by Fazel to make the scores level. The Pro Kabaddi League match ended with both set of raiders playing it safe and settling for a tie.

Bulls, Titans split points in exciting Southern Derby

A last-second tackle by Pawan Sehrawat helped Bengaluru Bulls pull off an unlikely 34-34 tie against Telugu Titans in Match 26 of Pro Kabaddi League Season 8. The Titans dominated the match with two ALL-OUTs but their inability to safeguard a lead in the final stages cost them a win.

Bengaluru Bulls had a poor day on the mat with Pawan Sehrawat spending more than 20 minutes in the dugout but the captain initiated the most important tackle of the match in the final second. Titans, despite the morale-depleting tie, will take positives in the performance of their young raider Ankit Beniwal who finished with a Super 10.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=usI7lzTnq-w

With no Siddharth Desai available for selection, Telugu Titans went into the Southern Derby as underdogs against a Bulls team in rich form. But Kabaddi is a game of surprises and the tempo was set early with Pawan Sehrawat tackled successfully by Sandeep Kandola. The “high-flyer” raider had no points in the first 8 minutes of the match and spent more than 15 of the half in the dugout as the Titans matched the Bulls blow for blow.

Telugu Titans were quick to inflict an ALL OUT in the second half of this Pro Kabaddi League match. Ankit Beniwal picked up a 2-point raid and Sandeep Kandola followed it up with a tackle on Pawan Sehrawat in the third minute to get an ALL OUT.

The Bulls, despite lacking the usual sharpness, kept matching the Titans and the scored were tied 22-22 with 10 minutes remaining in the half. Ankit Beniwal picked up his Super 10 but Rohit Kumar failed to give him the support needed with Rakesh Gowda getting injured. But left-corner defender Adarsh showed he is more than a capable deputy in a time of crisis by fetching a 3-point Super Raid in a do-or-die situation with 5 minutes on the clock.

Titans got another ALL OUT when Sandeep Kandola tackled Chandran Ranjit with less than 2 minutes to go. But Bulls refused to give up and Pawan Sehrawat tackled Rohit Kumar in the last raid of the match to clinch a tie. Rohit’s baffling decision to choose himself when all Titans needed was a safe, legal raid instead of in-form Adarsh cost the team a valuable win against Season 6 champions.

Dabang Delhi share spoils with Tamil Thalaivas

Naveen "Express" was on song once again as Dabang Delhi played an enthralling draw against Tamil Thalaivas on Day 11 of Pro Kabaddi League Season 8. Dabang Delhi started the match on a bright note and took a two-point lead at the end of the first half, however, the Thalaivas made a roaring comeback in the second half and ended the match with a scoreline of 30-30 to strengthen their position in the points table.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fED9T-9YmMc

It was the third tie of the day that saw some top performances from the raiders. Naveen Kumar scored his fifth super-10 of the ongoing season of the Pro Kabaddi League. He scored a total of 15 points in the match, but it wasn't enough to put his team across the winning line. Delhi is still at top of the points table with 21 points in five matches.

On the other hand, Tamil Thalaivas is in the fifth position on the table with 14 points after five matches. Tamil's raider Manjeet looked in great form against Dabang Delhi as he picked up a super-10. Defender Sagar also contributed to his team's victory with six points.

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