PKL Season 3 Champion
The year was 2016, and the Pro Kabaddi League was gearing up for its third season, following the phenomenal success of Seasons 1 and 2. It was a glorious time for Indian sports because the Indian masses were eager to try new sports, which was a major reason for Kabaddi emergence.
Looking back at the league’s track record and viewership over the last three years, the league saw a 36% increase in viewership compared to the previous season. Over the first 11 days of the 2016 edition, the league increased by 33% in total minutes viewed on Hotstar, Star India’s digital platform.
According to the success graph, a total of 64 brands were associated with Pro Kabaddi in Season 3. It was the first time that two seasons of Pro Kabaddi were played in the same year, and this was the first of them.
Pro Kabaddi Season 3 began on January 13th, 2016, and the final was held on March 5th, 2016. Teams competed in a double round-robin format, with the top four teams at the end of the round-robin stage advancing to the semi-finals.
PKL Season 3 Champion: Patna Pirates
U Mumba reached the finals for the third time in a row in Season 3 in an attempt to defend their title against first-time finalists Patna Pirates. The Mumbai-based franchise were the clear favourites to win the game, but the Pirates had other ideas, emerging victorious with a close 31-28 victory thanks to Rohit Kumar’s seven points in the finals.
Pardeep Narwal rose to prominence this season, finishing the tournament with 116 raid points. Sandeep Narwal, an all-rounder, was also an important cog for the Pirates, collecting 55 tackle points and making some useful raiding contributions.
Let’s go over the PKL Season 3 recap:
Pro Kabaddi League Season 3 featured eight teams, with four of them making the playoffs: Patna Pirates, Bengal Warriors, Puneri Paltan, and U Mumba.
Semi-Finals:
- Semi-Final 1
The first semifinal was played at Gachibowli Indoor Stadium in Hyderabad between Patna Pirates and Puneri Paltan. Patna Pirates easily defeated Puneri Paltan to advance to the final.
Puneri Paltan 40-21 Patna Pirates
- Semi-Final 2
The second semifinal was played at Indira Gandhi Indoor Stadium in Delhi between U Mumba and Bengal Warriors. U Mumba defeated Bengal Warriors to advance to the finals against Patna Pirates.
Bengal Warriors 41-29 U Mumba
- Third Place Play-off 3rd Position
The match for the third position was played at Thyagaraj Sports Complex in Delhi between Puneri Paltan and Bengal Warriors, which Puneri Paltan easily defeated.
Puneri Paltan 31-27 Bengal Warriors
- Final:
The final of the Pro Kabaddi League Season 3 was played at the Thyagaraj Sports Complex in Delhi between Patna Pirates and U Mumba. Patna Pirates won their first Pro Kabaddi League title with a thrilling win over U Mumba. (Patna Pirates 31-28 U Mumba)
With 8 raider points in the match, Rohit Kumar led the Jaipur Pink Panthers. Sandeep Narwal led all defenders with 5 tackle points.
Patna Pirates’ top raider was Anup Kumar, who had 8 raider points in the game. Mohit Chillar led the Patna Pirates in tackle points with six.
- U Mumba scored 14 raid points, while Patna Pirates scored 16 raid points.
- U Mumba scored 11 tackle points, while Patna Pirates scored 12 tackle points.
- U Mumba scored 42 all-out points, while Patna Pirates scored two all-out points.
- U Mumba only gave up one extra point, while Patna Pirates gave up one.