Thalaivas face Titans in PKL-6 opener on Oct 5

Southern giants Tamil Thalaivas will face off neighbours Telugu Titans in the opener of the sixth season of Pro Kabaddi League (PKL) in Chennai on October 5, the organisers Mashal Sports Pvt Ltd announced on Wednesday.

The opening day's action will also witness a riveting clash between former PKL champions U Mumba and Jaipur Pink Panthers.

The tournament will be played across 13 cities, with the final showdown in Mumbai on January 5, 2019. Fans can catch the action at the stadiums as well as on the Star Sports network and Hotstar.

The other highly anticipated matches through the week include, Tamil Thalaivas vs Patna Pirates, as the Dubki King Pradeep Narwal will dodge his way through defenders to break his previous seasons' record of 369 raid points.

PKL's highest paid player, Monu Goyat will begin his raid for glory as Haryana Steelers takes on Puneri Paltans in the fifth match of the season.

Announcing the schedule, Anupam Goswami, the League Commissioner said: "We have had to adjust the Season VI window to October onwards, in lieu of the ongoing Asian Games that have nearly all the world's top Kabaddi athletes playing for their respective national teams."

"We will return to a July start for PKL Season VII. Meanwhile, I look forward to PKL Season VI being an intensely competitive affair, as well as a great celebration of Kabaddi."

The 12 participating teams have been divided into two zones of six teams each, where each team will play a set of 15 intra-zone and 7 inter-zone matches, prior to the anticipated play-offs.

The play-offs stage will comprise three adrenaline filled eliminators, two qualifiers and the final scheduled to take place in Mumbai.

--IANS

tri/sed