After their Eliminator match ended 36-36 at the end of regulation, the Tamil Thalaivas defeated the UP Yoddhas 6-4 in a tiebreaker to advance to the Pro Kabaddi League semifinals. In the first eliminator, the Bengaluru Bulls easily defeated Dabang Delhi 56-24 in the opening Eliminator game to advance to the semifinals.
U.P. Yoddhas have consistently made the playoffs ever since they entered the league and this season was no different. U.P. Yoddhas finished the league stage in fourth place with 12 victories to book their place in the second eliminator against Tamil Thalaivas. With 208 raid points this season, Yoddhas captain Pardeep Narwal has been the team’s top performer.
On the other hand, the Tamil Thalaivas had a standout campaign and made the playoffs for the first time in their history by finishing the league stage in fifth place. With 220 raid points, Narender has been their best raider during this campaign. Both Yoddhas and Thalaivas won one game apiece during the two league encounters between the two teams during the current season.
Thalaivas got off to a strong start, destroying Yoddhas’ defense in the first few minutes to go up 4-0. As they keep up the pace to hold the advantage, Narender carried off fantastic raids that were excellently supported by a tight defense from Thalaivas. The star raider Pardeep Narwal and Surender Gill combined for five points for the Yoddhas throughout the first half, but it wasn’t enough to tie the game as Thalaivas led 16-14 at the half.
The Thalaivas kicked off the second half inflicting a first All Out on the Yoddhas to surge into a 19-15 lead. However, as Gill started picking up a few points here and there, the Yoddhas attempted to strike back, but the squad was unable to take the lead. The Thalaivas kept their composure and added just enough points to keep the Yoddhas at a safe distance with the aid of Narendra’s expert raiding.
The Yoddhas, however, bounced back and secured their first All Out of the game with just over two minutes remaining in the clock to tie the score at 33-33. The Yoddhas had a 36-35 advantage when Pawar’s one-point conversion on Narwal with 15 seconds left gave Thalavias the chance to tie the game and force a tiebreaker. The Thalaivas were flawless in the tense tiebreaker, blasting the Yoddhas back and forth to win the match 6-4 and proceed to Thursday’s Semifinal clash against Puneri Paltan.
Bengaluru Bulls beat Dabang Delhi 56-24 in Eliminator 1
with just over two minutes remaining in the clock to tie the score at 33-33. The Yoddhas had a 36-35 advantage when Pawar’s one-point conversion on Narwal with 15 seconds left gave Thalavias the chance to tie the game and force a tiebreaker. The Thalaivas were flawless in the tense tiebreaker, blasting the Yoddhas back and forth to win the match 6-4 and proceed to Thursday’s Semifinal clash against Puneri Paltan.
In Eliminator 1 on Tuesday, the Bengaluru Bulls put on a standout effort to overcome Dabang Delhi K.C. 56-24 and advance to the Semi-Final match against the Jaipur Pink Panthers.
From the very first second of the game, Bengaluru bulls established themselves as a formidable force as they started to gather quick points to force Delhi to go on the defensive. Vikash Kandola and Kandola pulled off brilliant raids, giving the Bulls a commanding 7-1 lead before inflicting a brilliant All Out on the defending champions early on.
Delhi’s Ashu Malik and Naveen Kumar made an effort to close the gap, but the Bulls carried another All Out to take control of the game at a score of 24-10 before the half. In the second half, Bharat and Ponparthiban kept the tally ticking up as Bengaluru continued to dominate the match with a 33-15 lead. Delhi’s team seemed absolutely lost and was unable to regularly score points through tackles or raids. The defending champions were hoping for a miracle, but Bengaluru struck them with another All out in the 33rd minute. The Bulls capitalized on the wave of momentum to finally seal a convincing victory and advance to the semifinals.
Kabaddi League viewership crosses the 200-million mark
Due to the tremendous popularity rise of Kabaddi in the West and South of India, the viewership of the Pro Kabaddi League (PKL) in the current Season 9 has already surpassed the total of Season 8 with over 200 million viewers threshold. According to Broadcast Audience Research Council (BARC) figures, as of December 2, the first 114 matches of the PKL-9 had attracted a total of 202 million viewers, an increase of 13 million over the 189 million viewers who watched the entire tournament during the previous season.