Welcome to Sportstar’s coverage of the Pro Kabaddi League. This is Nihit Sachdeva and I will be taking you through today’s PKL 8 match between Patna Pirates and Bengaluru Bulls.

HALF-TIME: Patna Pirates 20-16 Bengaluru Bulls

20-16: Last raid of the first half and it is an empty one by the Pirates skipper Prashanth Kumar Rai.

20-16: Pawan has been sent to the bench again and this time it is Neeraj who picks a tackle point.

19-16: That was some struggle by Sachin Tanwar to escape but the Bulls defense was strong enough to hold him.

19-15: And they tackle another raider in Bharat Hooda. The Pirates defense, Sunil in particular, is on a roll here.

18-15: Do-or-die raid for Sachin Tanwar. Committed the mistake of going to deep and Saurabh Nandal had no problem in blocking him.

18-14: Pawan Sehrawat goes, Ranjith follows. Brilliant ankle hold by Sunil sends another dangerous Bulls raider to the bench.

17-14: This is turning out to be a good duel as this time, Shadloui gets the better of Pawan Sehrawat. One tackle point for the big man.

16-14: A fantastic toe touch on Aman by Sachin Tanwar. Quick.

15-13: Ranjith gets a good back hold on Guman Singh and pulls him back.

15-11: A two point raid for Sachin! Gets both Bulls defenders Mayur and Aman out.

13-11: Well done, Guman Singh. An effective raid as he gets Bharat Hooda, a raider, out with a touch.

12-10: Not this time, Shadloui. A lone tackle on the high flier is just not going to work so easily.

11-9: ALL OUT!!! What a quick turnaround this has been from the Pirates after sending Pawan to the bench. Deepak Narwal came on as the substitute and Shadloui had no problem at the right corner in getting hold of his ankle.

7-8: Sunil is having a ball here as he gets hold of Bharat and then the Pirates defense went all in on him.

5-8: Shadloui comes to the party. Strong ankle hold on Ranjith by Sunil and then a massive block by Shadloui.

4-7: Pawan gets a bonus but this time Sunil gets his man!

2-6: Another bonus and touch point raid for Pawan and he gets the right corner of the Pirates defense.

2-4: I don’t know what Mayur Kadam was trying to do there going solo on Sachin. Easy point for the Pirates raider.

1-4: Lovely start for Pawan here as he picks a bonus from under Sunil’s nose and then baits him in tackling him. Two points. Easy.

1-2: A weak attempt from Neeraj to tackle Pawan. Easy point for the Bengaluru raider there.

1-1: Sachin Tanwar gets a quick touch on Aman and the defender has to walk back to the bench.

0-1: It’s the in-form Pawan Sehrawat who comes in for the first raid of the match and easily picks up a bonus.

Patna Pirates won the toss. Bengaluru Bulls to raid first.

8-35pm: LINE UPS!!!

Patna Pirates: Sachin Tanwar, Neeraj Kumar, Sajin C, Prashanth Kumar Rai (c), Guman Singh, Sunil Narwal, Mohammadreza Shadloui

Bengaluru Bulls: Pawan Sehrawat (c),  Chandran Ranjith, Mayur Kadam, Mahender Singh, Saurabh Nandal, Bharat Hooda, Aman Antil,

8-25pm: Head-to-head stats – Matches played – 17, Matches won by Patna Pirates – 10, Matches won by Bengaluru Bulls – 5, Matches tied – 2

8-15pm: Bengaluru Bulls have won four out of their last five matches which includes a 61-22 hammering of a Naveen Kumar-less Dabang Delhi side. Star raider Pawan Sehrawat is on a rampage with 46 points in the last two games taking him past Naveen to the top of the current season’s leading point scorer’s position. Pawan has got decent support in another raider, Bharat and the duo will hope to make life tough for the Patna Pirates defense.

8-10pm: It’s a battle of the heavyweights. Third-placed Patna Pirates vs league leader Bengaluru Bulls. Prashanth Kumar Rai’s Patna Pirates come into this match after a surprise 38-28 defeat to Jaipur Pink Panthers. The raiders did their job in that match scoring 19 points but it was the defense that let them down with just four tackle points.Against a team that has arguably the best raider this season in Pawan Sehrawat, the Pirates’ defenders have a tough task on their hands.

8-05pm: The 2022 edition of the Sportstar Aces Awards is back and we are celebrating the marvellous year for Indian Sports that 2021 was. From Neeraj Chopra and the other Olympic and Paralympic medallists to the Indian cricket team, we have a bunch of nominees who need your vote to win! Support your favourite athlete/team here.

8-00pm: Hello folks! Welcome to our live coverage of the second game of the evening between Patna Pirates and Bengaluru Bulls. Before we get to that, here are the results from the last three days –