The first day of the Patna leg saw the home team extend their lead at the top of the Star Sports Pro Kabaddi table while Jaipur Pink Panthers returned to winning ways in style against Telugu Titans.
Patna Pirates extended their lead at the top with a 32-27 win over Bengal Warriors in their first game at home. Shrikant Jadhav’s 7 points went in vain as Pardeep Narwal and Rohit Kumar with 6 and 8 points respectively stole the show at the Patliputra Sports Complex in Patna.
The two teams exchanged blows till the 7th minute and the scorecard was tied at 4 points each. Girish Maruti Ernak and Nilesh Shinde then helped the visitors take 3 unanswered points and reduce the home team to just 3 men. However, Patna Pirates turned it around in a matter of minutes; they went on an 11-point streak which included an all out on the visitors.
The Pirates’ revival started when Jang Kun Lee was taken down in a super tackle, after which Rohit Kumar won 2 points in his raid to give the home team the lead. Pardeep Narwal conjured up the raid of the match when he got all the remaining 3 Warriors in a single move and completed the all out in the 15th minute. Despite trailing by 8 points, Nilesh Shinde’s men managed to make it a 6-point game as the game reached the halfway stage with Patna leading 17-11.
HT: Patna Pirates 17-11 Bengal Warriors
The second half started in the same way as the first with both teams swapping points for the first 8 minutes. At the 28-minute mark, Shrikant Jadhav and Lee came to life; the former reduced the opponents down to just 1 man with 2 points in his raid. The Pirates captain Manpreet Singh was tackled in the 35th minute as the Warriors made it a 1-point game.
However, buoyed by the vociferous crowd at the Patliputra Sports Complex, the Pirates held firm and closed the game at 32-27. Rohit Kumar and Pardeep Narwal were the architects of the win as they helped the Patna Pirates complete the double on Bengal Warriors and extend their lead at the top.
FT: Patna Pirates 32-27 Bengal Warriors
You can catch the highlights of the match, presented by hotstar, below:
Sonu and Rajesh shine
Despite the return of Rahul Chaudhari and Sukesh Hegde, Telugu Titans suffered a 26-35 defeat at the hands of the Jaipur Pink Panthers. Rajesh Narwal was a rock at the back with 5 tackle points while Sonu Narwal’s 9 raid points helped the Panthers complete the win.
After a dull first couple of minutes, the game burst into life when Sonu Narwal helped the Pink Panthers take a 5-1 lead in the 7th minute. The massacre continued as the Titans were reduced to just 2 men in the very next minute. The all out was completed in the 9th minute as the Pink Panthers extended their advantage to 9 points midway through the first half.
The team in Pink showed no mercy and had Telugu Titans on the verge of yet another all out just 5 minutes after inflicting the first. However, the last man standing, Dharmaraj Cheralathan delivered the goods when it mattered, and after winning 2 points in his raid got Sonu out in a super tackle to reduce their deficit from 14 points to 10 within a minute. By the end of the first half, Telugu Titans made it an 8-point game and reduced the Jaipur Pink Panthers to just 3 men.
HT: Telugu Titans 11-19 Jaipur Pink Panthers
Telugu Titans came out roaring from the blocks in the second half and took just 6 minutes to get an all out of their own and make it a 5-point game. Sukesh Hegde returned successfully from his raid before Rahul Chaudhari completed the all out. The two teams exchanged points till the 32nd minute, at which point the Jaipur coach Kasinathan Bhaskaran called for a timeout.
The break did wonders for the men in Pink and halted the momentum gathered by their opponents. Rajesh Narwal and Kuldeep Singh helped reduce the Titans to just 1 man and Sonu got Cheralathan to inflict yet another all out on the team in yellow 2 minutes from time, thereby increasing their lead to 12 points.
A few points by the Titans reduced the gap, but time was not their friend and the final buzzer went with the score 35-26 in favour of Jaipur Pink Panthers. With this win, Abhishek Bachchan’s team moved up to 5th in the table.
FT: Telugu Titans 26-35 Jaipur Pink Panthers
You can catch the highlights of the match, presented by hotstar, below:
