Pro Kabaddi League LIVE: Bengaluru Bulls vs U Mumba
Hello and welcome to Sportstar’s live blog of the Pro Kabaddi League! PKL 8 begins with a blockbuster game between former champions U Mumba and Bengaluru Bulls. This is Shyam Vasudevan bringing you live updates as the action unfurls.
6:55pm: From Siddharth Desai to Pardeep Narwal, Pawan Kumar Sehrawat and Naveen Kumar, here are five players to look out for in PKL 8 –
Five Indian stars to watch out for
Pawan Kumar Sehrawat scored a mammoth 360 points for Bengaluru Bulls in season seven of the Pro Kabaddi League (PKL). – R. Senthil Kumar
6:50pm: Siddharth Desai, Telugu Titans’ ace raider, has a point to prove this season. Dubbed the Baahubali of the kabaddi world, the muscular raider pocketed 220 points last season, the fourth-highest in the league, but was far from his best. A shoulder injury had partially restricted his performance, but he’s had two years now, almost too much time he concedes, to fully recover.
“Recovery ke liye jyada hi time mil gaya, do saal tang ho gya wait karke (I got a little too much time to recover. I was getting impatient to get back to playing.) I have been focusing on strengthening my lower body and have been working on improving my explosive power, This will help me grab a bonus point and evade the defenders,” he says.
“I am very excited and keen to show how I have improved my game. The team has trusted me and made me the vice-captain. My target is to take the team as far ahead as possible,” he adds.
Siddharth Desai has enjoyed success with the franchise but was unable to get them in the top half of the points table in season 7. – ProKabaddi League
6:45pm: Patna Pirates’ new captain Prashant Kumar Rai gave a very interesting quote in yesterday’s pre-tournament press conference. “Come February, one of the 11 teams will face Patna Pirates,” he quipped. Here’s what the other captains said –
From Pawan Sehrawat to Fazel Atrachali – what the captains said ahead of PKL 8
PKL Season 8 will begin with U Mumba facing Bengaluru Bulls in the tournament opener. – Special Arrangement
6:40pm: Another new element this season is the fact that each of the Saturdays will have three games each! The first four opening days of the season will also feature three games each. Also, this season will be a slightly shortened affair and the final has been slated for February 26.
The league was initially set to begin in July but the onset of the second wave of the pandemic meant the organisers had to push it to the end of the year. – Pro Kabaddi League
6:35pm: So, what’s new this season you ask? For starters, this season will be held behind closed doors at the Sheraton Grand Bengaluru Whitefield Hotel and Convention Centre. All 12 teams will be housed in the hotel, have designated time slots for training and meals, and will be allowed to travel only to the competition venue, which is just a few yards from their rooms. More on that here –
PKL Season 8: Return of the action heroes
PKL 8 will be conducted in a bio-secure bubble at the Sheraton Grand Bengaluru Whitefield Hotel and Convention Centre. – Special Arrangement
6:25pm Season eight of the Pro Kabaddi League (PKL) kicks off today with a blockbuster battle as U Mumba loks horns with Bengaluru Bulls. U Mumba is led by Iranian superstar Fazel Atrachali for the third season running, while Pawan Kumar Sehrawat, who was the best raider last season, will captain Bengaluru Bulls for the first time.
The two teams had met twice last season and Bengaluru Bulls won both those clashes. Both teams made it to the semifinals last season, with U Mumba falling to eventual champion Bengal Warriors, while Bengaluru Bulls lost to Dabang Delhi.
| Where to watch PKL 8? You can watch all the games in the Pro Kabaddi League on the Star Sports Network. The matches will also be streamed live on the Disney + Hotstar app. |
