HYDERABAD: Mashal Sports Pvt. Ltd, organiser of the VIVO Pro Kabaddi League (PKL), have announced the fixtures for season 7 starting July 20.
The opening match at Gachibowli Stadium, Hyderabad will have Telugu Titans taking on U Mumba. The second game on opening day will be a battle of the champions – defending champions Bengaluru Bulls take on three-time winners Patna Pirates and both will look to get one up on the other and take a step in the direction to winning the trophy again this season.
Season 7 will have each team playing all other teams twice. The schedule minimises difference between matches played across teams at any given time making every game more crucial in the race to the playoffs.
The LIVE coverage of the new season will begin at 7:00 pm with matches beginning at 7:30 pm on the Star Sports Network and Hotstar.
The League:
The season returns to the original VIVO PKL calendar of July to October, with the league beginning on July 20 and finals on October 19.
The caravan continues with a focus on an equitable league table in a double round robin format where each team will play every other team twice, and the top six will go to the playoffs
Each city leg begins on Saturdays while rest days for the team are on Tuesdays
All home teams get 4 days rest before and after their home legs giving them adequate rest before their home leg
The home teams play 4 home matches: Saturdays, Sundays, Wednesdays and Fridays
All teams will have played an equal number of games by the half-way mark of the season
The other highly anticipated matches through the week include the big southern derby between Telugu Titans and Tamil Thalaivas. This has been a high-octane derby for the past two seasons.
