4 teams which finished 1st on the Pro Kabaddi points table and won PKL trophy in same season
The Pro Kabaddi 2022 (PKL) will culminate on Saturday evening in Mumbai. Jaipur Pink Panthers will square off against Puneri Paltan in this year's summit clash. Both teams were quite dominant during the league stage of the tournament and finished in the top 2 of the points table.
Jaipur Pink Panthers topped the points table by recording 15 wins in 22 matches. They earned 82 points in the league round, two more than second-placed Puneri Paltan. Looking at the Pro Kabaddi 2022 points table, Jaipur will start as the favorites to win.
However, in the eight seasons of the PKL, the team that topped the points table has taken the trophy home only four times. Here is a list of those four teams.
#1 Jaipur Pink Panthers - Pro Kabaddi Season 1
Jaipur Pink Panthers topped the points table in the first season of the Pro Kabaddi League by recording 10 wins in 14 matches. Playing under the leadership of Navneet Gautam, Jaipur beat the Patna Pirates to seal their place in the final.
U Mumba were their opponents in the final, and the Jaipur-based franchise recorded a 35-24 win. Maninder Singh was the hero for the Pink Panthers in that match as he recorded a Super 10 against U Mumba.
Jaipur will be in action in a Pro Kabaddi League final again tomorrow.
#2 U Mumba - Pro Kabaddi Season 2
U Mumba bounced back stronger in the second edition of the Pro Kabaddi League. After finishing as the runners-up in the first season, the Mumbai-based franchise roared in Season 2, recording 12 wins in 14 matches in the league round.
Captain Anup Kumar backed his players and rarely made any changes to the team's playing seven. U Mumba beat Patna Pirates in the semifinals to set up a summit clash with Manjeet Chhillar's Bengaluru Bulls.
Raider Shabeer Bappu's magnificent super raid in the second half of the match helped U Mumba defeat the Bengaluru Bulls 36-30. They became the second team to top the points table and take the trophy home.
#3 Patna Pirates - PKL Season 4
Patna Pirates became the third team to accomplish the feat. Heading into the tournament as the defending champions, the Patna-based franchise dominated the league stage and finished at the helm of the points table, recording 10 victories in 14 matches.
The Pirates then defeated Puneri Paltan in the semifinals to advance to the summit clash. Pardeep Narwal scored 16 points in the final to help Patna beat the Jaipur Pink Panthers 37-29.
#4 Bengaluru Bulls - PKL Season 6
The Bengaluru Bulls topped the Group B points table in the sixth edition of the Pro Kabaddi League. They met the Season 5 runners-up Gujarat Giants (then known as Gujarat Fortune Giants) in the final match.
The match went down to the wire, where Bengaluru eventually prevailed 38-33. Bulls top-scorer Pawan Sehrawat decimated the Gujarat Giants with a 22-point haul.
Surprisingly, not a single team that topped the points table has won the PKL trophy since the sixth season. It will be interesting to see if Jaipur can break that streak tomorrow.