Welcome to Sportstar’s live coverage of the Pro Kabaddi League. This is Lavanya Lakshmi Narayanan and I will be taking you through today’s PKL 8 match between Bengal Warriors and Jaipur Pink Panthers.

7.10pm: Here’s what the points table looks like. Bengal Warriors were at the top at the end of week 1 and now find themselves in the bottom half. Thats just how brutal this sport can be.

As you wait for the match to begin, here’s a throwback to a 2019 interaction we had with Dharmaraj Cheralathan (then with the Haryana Steelers and now part of the JPP unit). The 46 year old (yes, you read that right) is the oldest player in the league and will give some of the youngest and fittest players a run for their money. Check it out.

7PM: Acquaint yourself with the squads of both teams –

Pro Kabaddi League 2021: Full team list of all 12 PKL 8 franchises

6-45PM – FORM GUIDE:

Bengal Warriors began on a confident note with two consecutive wins but something turned off in the team’s collective function from their third game, against the Bengaluru Bulls, which saw them slump to three consecutive defeats  – two of those being heavy defeats too. Dabang Delhi inflicted a 17-point defeat on Maninder’s men while Patna Pirates also made merry, winning that clash by 14 points. The team is in desperate need for a win to keep morale high and their title defence on track. Maninder has had to do a lot of the heavy lifting and the team needs to figure out more support for their skipper. Mohammad Nabibakhsh has been brilliant when fully pumped in the game and his quiet patches tend to do more harm than good as it allows gaps for opponent to get in and steal points. The defence was hapless against Delhi and Patna and there remains a lot of work to be done if this team wants to hold on to its PKL crown.

Jaipur Pink Panthers: JPP got off to a wobbly start this season. Gujarat Giants beat them in the opening encounter with the team looking unsure of its roles on the mat. They bounced back in their next game against Haryana Steelers which famously panics when it takes the lead allowing Jaipur to sneak a win. They got the better of Pardeep Narwal’s UP Yoddha too before falling to a formidable defence lead to Fazel Atrachali in their game against U Mumba. Jaipur has slowly started forming combinations and Arjun Deshwal often singlehandedly pulls them out of sticky situations. Deepak Niwas Hooda seems quite comfortable in the allrounder mould, rallying his forces through difficut passages of play. They will need to put their best foot forward against a hurting Bengal Warriors outfit which will want to roar its way back to form on the mat.

6-30pm – If you’re new to the PKL caravan and are wondering what super raids, super tackles, bonus points, do or die raids are, we have you covered.