2nd September, 2014
For the past month, the entire country was hit with the kabaddi fever. Very rarely does a sport other than cricket, capture the imagination of such a large number of Indians at a go. Yes, when the FIFA world cup is on, everyone becomes a football fanatic! But the Pro Kabaddi League has done more good to the society than it could have ever imagined. One of most fascinating Indian sports, kabaddi was brought to the limelight over the past month.
Kabaddi is one of the few games that require ‘zero equipment’. Here is the tournament review of the Pro Kabaddi League.
The group stages kicked off in Mumbai on 26th July with a host of celebrities attending the event. U Mumba, the home team grabbed the first win with a 45-31 victory over Jaipur Pink Panthers. On the same day, Bengaluru Bulls had a flying start to their league with a 47-28 win over Dabang Delhi.
The league travelled across several cities. Starting off at Mumbai, the teams played matches at Kolkota, Delhi, Pune, Vizag, Jaipur and finally finishing the league stage at Bengaluru. The top four teams from the league would qualify for the knockout stage, and the race was on since the first game!
After their initial loss, Jaipur went on a winning-spree with eight consecutive victories. This run virtually guaranteed the Panthers a spot in the play-offs. U Mumba was another front-runner after the initial stages. The Mumbai team was unbeaten after eight games which included six wins and two draws. Their impressive forms made them favourites to lift the trophy.
Bengaluru Bulls had the advantage of having the last leg played at their home stadium. The Bulls won their final two games by just one point to qualify for the semi-finals. They beat Telugu Titans 27-26 and league leaders Jaipur Pink Panthers 30-29 to clinch the play-off spot in dramatic fashion.
The last play-off spot was clinched by the Patna Pirates. Led by Indian national team captain Rakesh Kumar, Patna looked a strong force throughout the league stage.
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