Welcome to Sportstar’s coverage of the Pro Kabaddi League. This is Shyam Vasudevan and I will be taking you through today’s PKL 8 match between Jaipur Pink Panthers and U Mumba.

12-22 Abhishek picks up a point to begin the second half and Jaipur Pink Panthers are now down to one man.

Ajith Kumar has been lethal in the first half and has bagged eight points, while Arjun Deshwal has also looked in good touch. An intense second half awaits!

12-21 That is a sublime raid from Abhishek –  he jumps over Dharmaraj’s tackle and gets a touch on another Jaipur Pink Panthers player to bag two massive points.

12-19 You just can’t keep Ajith quiet, can you? He’s at it again with a cheeky toe touch to pick up his eighth point of the evening.

11-18 That’s really good defending from Vishal. He leaps into a double ankle hold and gets the better of Arjun.

9-17 Abhishek extends U Mumba’s lead as he escapes Nitin Rawal’s half-hearted challenge.

Fazel has been shown a green card as the umpire says “no more shouting.” Fazel, calmly, says “okay, sorry” and moves on.

Dharmaraj Cheralathan has come on for Jaipur Pink Panthers. Dharmaraj, at 46, is the oldest player in the League. Here’s more on his journey with the PKL and his passion for agriculture –

9-14 Good comeback from Arjun. He slips out of Fazel’s ankle hold and grabs another point on his way back.

7-13 That is a monstrous tackle from Fazel! The Iranian almost spears Deepak Hooda to take him out of the equation.

The word from the centre is that Ajith has  hurt his left pinky finger. He’s still  visibly in pain, but he’s motoring on.

7-12 ALL OUT! Abhishek Singh inflicts the All Out as he gets rid of both the remaining Jaipur Pink Panthers players and U Mumba now has a five-point lead.

6-8 Ajith gets his man! He toys with the defence for the longest time and then gets a running hand touch on Nitin Rawal. Jaipur Pink Panthers are down to two men!

Uh-oh! Ajith seems to have hurt himself in the process and is writhing in pain.

5-7 SUPER RAID! That is absolutely stunning from Ajith. He escape an ankle lock and gets two touches on his way back to scalp a massive three-point lead.

This has been a very cagey affair so far and neither side has really been able to stamp its authority on this tie just yet.

5-4 Both the captains are off the mat! Fazel makes a mighty dash to shove Deepak off the mat but he goes into the lobby before contact is made and both sides get a point.

4-2 Two-point raid for Arjun! He bags the bonus and then runs past Sunil to give his side the early lead.

2-2 Mohsen strikes in his first raid of the season! He heads straight in and gets a toe touch on the right corner.

2-1 That’s a superb block from Shaul Kumar! The right cover races in and stops Abhishek with a fine upper-body tackle.

1-1 A fabulous running hand touch from Arjun and he delivers in the do-or-die raid!

0-0 Arjun Deshwal, up against his former team, comes in with the first raid but it’s an empty raid.

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7-28pm: LINE UPS!

Jaipur Pink Panthers: Deepak Niwas Hooda, Arjun Deshwal, Amit, Vishal, Nitin Rawal, Shaul Kumar, Sandeep Dhull

U Mumba: Fazel Atrachali, Abhishek Singh Sunil, Harendra, Mohsen, Ajith, Rinku

7-20pm: Our second game of the day will see Haryana Steelers take on the Bengaluru Bulls. Bengaluru Bulls will have a new captain this season in Pawan Kumar Sehrawat. The muscular raider replaces Rohit Kumar, who has since moved to Telugu Titans. Pawan is a true beast on the mat, he scored 360 points last campaign to top the scoring charts for the second season running. Pawan holds the record for the most points in a match at 39 and will be crucial in Bengaluru Bulls’ quest for a second title.

Here’s a really fun chat we had with him last season, where he talks about his journey with Bengaluru Bulls, how he nearly quit the sport and his love for PUBG (it was still around then!).

 

7-15pm: Winless in two games, if U Mumba can beat the Jaipur Pink Panthers today then the side will climb to the second spot in the standings. Check out the PKL 8

PKL 8 Points Table: Dabang Delhi tops table, Gujarat Giants climbs to second spot

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7-10pm: There will be a lot at stake today for Jaipur Pink Panthers’ ace raider in Arjun Deshwal today. He has been a revelation in PKL 8 and is one of only two players alongside Naveen Kumar to have registered a Super 10 in every game this season. Today will be an emotionally charged game for Arjun as he takes on his former side, U Mumba.

Gujarat Giants’ defence proved to be too hot to handle for the Panthers, despite a heartening performance from Arjun Deshwal, as the Season 1 Champion succumbed to a 34 – 27 defeat in their opening match.   –  ISL

 

7-05pm: Head to head stats – Jaipur Pink Panthers and U Mumba have locked horns 17 times in the PKL and U Mumba has prevailed in nine of those matches. Jaipur Pink Panthers has won six times, while th two remaining games ended in a tie.

6-55pm: Speaking of Fazel, the Iranian defender is one of the best names in the League. He is the best-paid foreign player in the PKL and is among the best defenders in the modern age. He orchestrated Iran’s win over India at the 2018 Asian Games and led the nation to the gold medal.

Fazel, one of the most entertaining players in the PKL, had a sit-down with us last season and spoke about his love for Bollywood, Indian food and his chance meeting with Amitabh Bachchan –

 

6-50pm: U Mumba has managed only one win in three games and is currently on the eighth spot. The side played a draw with Tamil Thalaivas in its previous encounter. Led by Iranian superstar Fazel Atrachali, U Mumba has banked on the raiding brilliance of Abhishek Singh and youngster Ajith Kumar this season.

V Ajith Kumar’s heroics with raids was not good enough for former champions U Mumba as they settled for a 30-30 tie against Tamil Thaliavas in their Pro Kabaddi League match on day 6 on Monday.   –  Special Arrangement

 

6-45pm: Hello guys and welcome to another day of kabaddi action! We’ve got a very interesting clash today as Jaipur Pink Panthers takes on U Mumba in a repeat of the final of the first season of PKL. Jaipur Pink Panthers is fourth on the table with 11 points and comes into the tie on the high of beating Pardeep Narwal’s UP Yoddha in its last game.

Jaipur Pink Panthers beat UP Yoddhas 32-29 with young raider Arjun Deshwal scoring 11 points. Skipper Deepak Hooda scored 9 points.   –  Special Arrangement

 

Before we introduce you to the fixtures of the day, here’s a look at the results from the last three days –

Pro Kabaddi PKL 8: Naveen helps Dabang Delhi rout Bengal Warriors, Gujarat Giants draws with Pardeep’s UP Yoddha

 

PKL 2021: Patna Pirates hand Puneri Paltan heavy defeat, Haryana Steelers edge Telugu Titans for season’s first win

 

PKL 2021: Tamil Thalaivas ties U Mumba 30-30 in thriller, Jaipur Pink Panthers beats UP Yoddhas 32-29

Where to watch PKL 8? You can watch all the games of the Pro Kabaddi League (PKL 8) on the Star Sports Network. The matches will also be streamed live on the Disney + Hotstar app.