To kick off the eighth edition of the Vivo Pro Kabaddi League (PKL), season 6 winners Bengaluru Bulls will take on season 2 winners U Mumba at the Sheraton Grand Bengaluru Whitefield Hotel & Convention Center.
PKL returns in 2021 after a stop-gap courtesy of the COVID-19 pandemic playing spoilsport. For the first time since its inception, the Premier Kabaddi League won’t take place in multiple cities. Bengaluru has been designated as the host for the entire season.
Sree Kanteerava Indoor Stadium was initially chosen as the host venue, but it was later announced that it would be moved to Sheraton Grand.
With the upcoming season of PKL being the first of many, there are quite a number of things to look forward to. This includes "Triple Panga", where three games will be played on the same day.
Of course, since it’s a bio-bubble environment that is instilled, stringent protocols and guidelines as per the government will be followed. Which also goes without saying that there won't be an in-stadia experience for the fans.
Will the Bengaluru Bulls have an advantage over the opposition given the fact that all games will take place in Garden City? Only time can tell. Rest assured, an interesting PKL season awaits all the viewers out there.
Match Details:
PKL 8 - Match 1: Bengaluru Bulls vs U Mumbai
Date: Wednesday, 22 December 2021
Venue: Sheraton Grand Bengaluru Whitefield, Hotel & Convention Centre
Time: 7.30 PM (IST)
Bengaluru Bulls vs U Mumbai: Head-to-head Record in PKL
Matches: 14
Bengaluru Bulls Wins: 4
U Mumba Wins: 10
Tie: 0
Stat Zone:
Most Raid Points: Pawan Kumar Sehrawat - 360
Most Tackle Points: Fazel Atrachali - 82
Interestingly, the captains of both the Bengaluru Bulls and U Mumba, Pawan Sehrawat and Fazel Atrachali, were the top points scorers in terms of raids and tackles in the previous season of the PKL in 2019.
Squads:
Bengaluru Bulls: Pawan Kumar Sehrawat (Captain), Chandran Ranjit, Deepak Narwal, GB More, Abolfazl Mghsodlou, Dong Geon Lee, Rohit Sangwan, Banty, Naseeb, Mahender Singh, Amit Sheoran, Saurabh Nandal, Ziaur Rahman, Mayur Kadam, Mohit Sehrawat, Ankit, Vikas, Rohit Kumar, and Vinod Naik.
Coach: Randhir Singh Sehrawat
U Mumba: Abhishek Singh, V Ajith Kumar, Jashandeep Singh, Navneet, Rahul Rana, Kamlesh, Shivam, Fazel Atrachali (Captain), Harendra Kumar, Sunil Siddhagawli, Ajeet, Rinku, Prince, Baljinder Singh, Rahul, Mohsen Mghsoudlou, Ajinkya Kapre, Ashish Sangwan, Pankaj, and Monu.
Coach: Rajaguru Subramanian
Fantasy Picks for Bengaluru Bulls vs U Mumba:
Raiders: Pawan Kumar Sehrawat, Chandran Ranjit, Jashandeep Singh
All-rounder: Pankaj
Defenders: Mahender Singh, Fazel Atrachali, Amit Sheoran
Captain choices: Pawan Kumar Sehrawat and Fazel Atrachali.