What is kabaddi and how do you read a kabaddi scoreboard?

Believed to originate 4000 years ago, kabaddi has seen an astronomical surge in popularity among televised sports in India, and has even reached international audiences. Here’s a quick rundown of the rules of this fast-paced sport, as well as a guide on how to use our kabaddi scoreboard in your next sports live stream. 

From traditional to international

Since Star Sports first started streaming the Pro Kabaddi League (PKL) in 2014, kabaddi has grown into the second most watched sports in the country – second only to the Indian Premier League (IPL).

The highly strategic, adrenaline-boosting sport is also making a mark on the global stage. There are now kabaddi teams all over the world – even in Egypt. South Korean beauty queen Woo Hee-jun has also competed in the woman’s group kabaddi event in the 2023 Asian Games.

What are the rules of kabaddi?

In kabaddi, two opposing teams of seven try and achieve two basic objectives:

• Raid. A single player runs into the opposing (defending) team’s half of the court, touching out as many players as possible to get them out, and must return without being tackled or stopped – all in one breath! (Traditionally, the player continuously chant ‘kabaddi’ to prove that they are exhaling. The player can also be limited to 30 seconds on the raid clock.) 
• Defend. The players on the defending team have to avoid being touched by a raider, or they’ll be out and leave the court until they are ‘revived’. They also have to try to stop the raider from returning to the midline. 

Here’s where it gets a bit more complicated. A raider has to reach the baulk line before they can touch any players, and must return to the midline before being caught or tackled – otherwise they are out. A raider can touch a player with their hand, foot, or kick them lightly. Every time a team scores a point, they can revive a player back to the field. 

A kabaddi match duration can vary. Usually, a game runs for 40 minutes, split into 20 minute halves. Each team is allowed a total of 12 players for substitutions and replacements, however any substitutions won’t affect how many active players remain on the court.

Learning the baulk line in kabaddi meaning

What and where is the baulk line? Here’s a quick explanation of what the different lines on the court mean, and when they come into play. 

The midline or middle line is the line that separates each team’s territory. The baulk line is usually 3.75 meters back from the midline.

The lobby line is only active once the raider touches someone. The raider can use this area to help him escape, and defenders can use it to tackle the retreating attacker.

Meanwhile, a bonus line is only active when there are six or more defenders on the court. A raider who gets to the bonus line and back scores one extra point.

Kabaddi points rules

What are the basic rules of kabaddi in points scoring? To start, every player on the defense team who is touched and sent out is worth one point. And, for every point a raider scores, they get to revive one player who’s out. 

You can also earn extra points with any of the following: 

• Super Tackle: when there are only two or three defenders left, and they manage to tackle or stop a raider, they will earn two points. 
• Do Or Die raid: if a raider hasn’t scored in two consecutive rounds, they have to score in the third round or they get eliminated, and the defending team scores a point and gets to ‘revive’ a player. 
• Pursuit: when a defender pursues a retreating raider to score a point. This works best when the raiding player is slow to retreat and close enough to the midline to catch.
• All Out: if a raider manages to get all defending players out in a single raid, you earn one point for each raider eliminated, plus two additional points.

Stream your next match with our free kabaddi scoreboard

Here at uno, we’ve created a kabaddi scoreboard that is easy to use, and can be edited in real time online from any device to match your team colors and logos. Our overlays aren’t just compatible with your favorite streaming software. You can also be hooked up to your Stream Deck to make streaming even more seamless than ever. 

Each overlay is designed by the same people who work with leading broadcasters of televised sports. The good news is that every uno overlay is free to use, just by signing up!

Use our controls to decrease the number of active players, control your raid clock and game clock, and keep track of the score. You can simply add points by clicking on the points increment buttons, or just type the score into the text box. You can also add alerts by using each team’s Bonus Line – like letting viewers know when either team has just scored a Super Tackle, or when a raider is entering a Do Or Die round.

You can also use our Slots tool to create multiple pre-customized scoreboards with different colors, logos, and team names. This will be particularly useful if you’re hosting a full-day tournament, or if you regularly stream a number of teams.

If you’ve got more questions about setting up to live stream a kabaddi match with our kabaddi scoreboard, or if you just want to connect with a community of streamers, come join us on Discord. You can talk to the uno team directly on the support channel, and discover even more sports streaming ideas and setups.