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The 2019 edition of Pro Kabaddi League will enter its playoffs phase tonight as the fans will witness two high-profile eliminator matches at the EKA Arena in Ahmedabad. In the first eliminator, the comeback kings U.P. Yoddha will battle the defending champions Bengaluru Bulls while in the second eliminator match, the Season 2 champions U Mumba will meet Rakesh Kumar’s side, Haryana Steelers.
The winners of these two matches will further clash with the top two teams of the tournament, Dabang Delhi K.C. and Bengal Warriors in the semi-finals before the winners of those two games fight with each other in the grand finale on 19th October. The kabaddi universe is billing the upcoming week to be the ‘World’s Toughest Week’ and in this week, experience will matter the most.
All the six teams have featured in the knockout stages earlier and here’s a look at their records in high-pressure matches -
#6 Bengal Warriors
Matches - 5, Won - 0, Lost - 5
The second best team of PKL 2019, Bengal Warriors have previously failed to play well in the playoffs. They have played 5 playoff matches of PKL and have won none. They had lost the semi-final match to U Mumba in the third season, followed by a loss to Puneri Paltan in the third-place playoff of the same edition.
In Season 5, they had topped the points table of Zone B but they squandered both the opportunities they received by losing to Gujarat Fortune Giants and Patna Pirates. Even in Season 6, they could not make it to the final, despite reaching the playoffs.
#5 Haryana Steelers
Matches - 1, Won - 0, Lost - 1
This is the second time the Haryana Steelers will take part in the playoffs of Pro Kabaddi League. However, the Steelers had performed poorly in their previous playoff match. Fighting against Patna Pirates in the eliminator match of Season 5, the Steelers had lost the match by 39 points because of Pardeep Narwal’s heroics.
Rakesh Kumar and Dharmaraj Cheralathan will hope that the team performs well in the upcoming match against U Mumba.
#4 Dabang Delhi K.C.
Matches - 2, Won - 1, Lost - 1
The table-toppers of this season, Dabang Delhi K.C. had qualified for the playoffs last year as well, where they conquered the challenge from Bengal Warriors in the Eliminator 2 match but they could not defeat U.P. Yoddha in the Eliminator 3 match.
Though they have been a part of the tournament since Season 1, Dabang Delhi K.C. have never featured in the final. This year, Naveen Kumar and Co. will try to pull off an epic performance in the semi-finals to break the jinx.
#3 U.P. Yoddha
Matches - 4, Won - 2, Lost - 2
U.P. Yoddha had made a late entry into the Pro Kabaddi League but they have played some fantastic kabaddi ever since their debut. The Lucknow-based franchise had qualified for the playoffs in Season 5 where they suffered a loss to Puneri Paltan in Eliminator 1.
In 2018, they made a heroic comeback in the zonal matches to qualify for the playoffs and Rishank Devadiga’s side even made it to the Qualifier 2 match after recording victories in Eliminator 1 and Eliminator 3. Though they lost to the Gujarat Fortune Giants in that match; they had won the hearts of the fans with their stellar performances.
With Nitesh Kumar leading the team this season, expect them to repeat the same performances once again.
#2 Bengaluru Bulls
Matches - 6, Won - 3, Lost - 3
Bengaluru Bulls made it to the semi-finals in the first and second editions of the Pro Kabaddi League. Under the leadership of Manjeet Chhillar, the team finished fourth in the maiden season of PKL, but they qualified for the final the very next year.
Though they could not win the trophy in the first five editions, coach Randhir Singh stayed determined and guided his team to the title in 2018. After finishing at the top of the points table of Zone B, Bengaluru Bulls won the Qualifier 1 and the Final to clinch their first PKL championship.
While their path to the final will be tough this season, the fans can back Pawan Sehrawat and Co. to give it all they have.
#1 U Mumba
Matches - 7, Won - 4, Lost - 3
The most consistent team in the history of Pro Kabaddi League, U Mumba have qualified for the playoffs for the fifth time in seven seasons. They had lost to the Jaipur Pink Panthers in the final of Season 1 but they won the trophy the very next year by defeating the Bengaluru Bulls in the final of Season 2.
Anup Kumar’s men qualified for the final once again in Season 3 but Patna Pirates defeated them in the summit clash. The Mumbai-based franchise could not make it to the playoffs of Season 4 and Season 5 before Fazel Atrachali took over the reins of the team and took it to the playoffs in Season 6.
Though U Mumba had lost to U.P. Yoddha in Eliminator 1 last year, they will look to overcome the Haryana Steelers in the Eliminator match tonight.
