The 8th season of the Pro Kabaddi League has found a blistering start, and fans are already loving it. There was no kabaddi action in the country for more than 2 years as pandemic circumstances inhibited tournament proceedings.
Bengal Warriors were crowned season 7 champions in October 2019, after they defeated Dabang Delhi 39-34 in the finals.
The tournament is played at the Sheraton Grand Hotel in Bengaluru under closed doors.
Bulls Lead the Table after 6 Games
Season 6 champions, Bengaluru Bulls, have begun their new campaign in fine form. They have accumulated 23 points in their six games so far and stand first in the table.
After losing their season opener to U Mumba, the Bulls have managed a 5-match unbeaten streak and will continue to maintain it in their coming fixtures.
Pawan Kumar Sehrawat leading from the front
Bengaluru’s star man had been named captain of the team by coach Randhir Singh Sehrawat before the start of the season, and he has been up to the task.
The 25-year-old raider has already picked up 73 raid points, only behind Delhi’s Naveen Kumar (81), and four tackle points.
Pawan, also fondly called Hi-Flyer, was a key ingredient in Bengaluru’s season 6 triumph and was also the Most Valuable Player (MVP) in that year.
Inconsistency in defence seems to be the only fret for Bulls
After their 34-34 tie against Telugu Titans, the captain was critical of his team’s defence. He was unhappy with the consistency of the defence unit, despite Saurabh Nandal and GB More’s good form. The former has 14 tackle points to his name and looks confident in the right corner position.
But there is a lack of collective effort from the defence, with senior defenders like Mahender Singh and Amit Sheoran not yet playing up to their standards.
Pawan shared his opinions on the issue in the post-match press conference:
“Our defence is not performing consistently. We are scoring 18 points in one match and scoring 3 in the next. Defence is not yet scoring at least 10 tackle points per match.”
Chandran Ranjit: Bulls’ Lifeline
The responsibility of the raiding department was solely on Pawan in the last season, with no support whatsoever from other raiders. Coach Randhir recognizing this problem, bought the Tamil Nadu raider in this year’s auction for Rs. 80 lakhs.
The 30-year-old has scored 42 raid points in 6 games despite playing second fiddle to Pawan Kumar.
Ranjit, hailing from Kanyakumari, has put up his hand and taken the responsibility of reviving his captain onto the mat and scoring important raid points in clutch situations.
The two raiders complement each other’s game well and look like a potent threat to the defenders.
Good start, work yet to be done
The season is long with 16 more league games, followed by playoffs. Bengaluru Bulls have started fine but need to be consistent and ruthless if they have to make it to the business end of the league.
Randhir Singh Sehrawat, with his vast coaching experience in the league, will be looking to make it to the playoffs for the 4th time with the team he has been associated with from the inaugural season.
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