'%20x='0'%20y='0'%20height='100%25'%20width='100%25'%20%0A%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20xlink%3Ahref='data:image/jpg;base64,/9j/2wBDAAYEBQYFBAYGBQYHBwYIChAKCgkJChQODwwQFxQYGBcUFhYaHSUfGhsjHBYWICwgIyYnKSopGR8tMC0oMCUoKSj/2wBDAQcHBwoIChMKChMoGhYaKCgoKCgoKCgoKCgoKCgoKCgoKCgoKCgoKCgoKCgoKCgoKCgoKCgoKCgoKCgoKCgoKCj/wgARCAAGAAoDASIAAhEBAxEB/8QAFQABAQAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAb/2gAIAQEAAAAAm3//xAAUAQEAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAC/9oACAECEAAAAF//xAAUAQEAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAD/9oACAEDEAAAAG//xAAjEAACAQIEBwAAAAAAAAAAAAACAwEABAUHERIGExQhIjJh/9oACAEBAAE/AMVyyww7Uwi2tlMQRCLAkteUJ7dv0vL3nvTcr+HlNNc2rJkJkdepOv/EABkRAAEFAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAEAAgMxwf/aAAgBAgEBPwAwMrSv/8QAGREAAQUAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAECBBEj/9oACAEDAQE/AJWVIw//2Q=='%3E%3C/image%3E%3C/svg%3E)
Defending Pro Kabaddi League champions Patna Pirates capped off their home leg with a thrilling 29-27 win over the Bengal Warriors in their last assignment at home, the Patliputra Sports Complex in Patna.
Struck a blow ahead of the contest with Pardeep Narwal missing out owing to a wrist injury, the Pirates were forced to settle without the presence of their talismanic skipper as left corner defender Jaideep led the team.
In what was dubbed as the 'coming of a full circle' for the Pirates, Deepak Narwal and Manjeet combined to nip away with the points while Tushar Patil, subbed on from the benches, contributed with four vital points. Jaideep's vicious ankle holds and blocks came to the fore as the Bengal Warriors, sans-Maninder Singh, could not find their raiding prowess.
However, Patna's struggles were out in the open as a win in their first game and last game at home was sandwiched by four losses on the trot and one massive 32-53 loss at the hands of the Telugu Titans.
Pardeep Narwal's lack of form was a major contributor to Patna's spate of losses as their skipper amassed only 49 points from 5 games, a far cry from his usual self while Deepak Narwal, the team's second-best raider in the leg, contributed just 15 points.
Manjeet, who started off in fine fashion, slowly faded away as he picked up just 25 points from six matches while on the defense front, Vikas Kale's dashes fetched him 13 points from six matches.
In the end, the Pirates finished with just two wins and two times the number of losses, as the home crowd in attendance had to leave with bitter-sweet memories. Here are the hits and misses from the Pirates.
#5 Miss - Lack of defensive cohesion
The Pirates retained a host of defenders for the season who were expected to come good for the defending champions. However, in the home leg, the crucial part of support went missing in the defensive unit that played a major role in Patna's campaign.
Jaideep went about his task with certain consistency but apart from the left corner, Vikas Kale's dashes came at certain moments. Manjeet's surprise ankle holds and Ravinder Kumar's holds were sporadic.
Kuldeep Singh failed to convert a start but was a good contributor as he was subbed on. Jawahar Dagar could not cement his spot in the team while Vijay was more prominent as a raider than a defender.
In the end, the defenders did enjoy their moments but they failed to stitch together their performances, as they fell to shocking losses.
#4 Hit - Jaideep's fearless defending
Left corner defender Jaideep has enjoyed a good season thus far and presented his usual form all through the Patna leg as his fearless defending fetched him a host of points, 23 points from six matches, with an average of 3.833 points per match in a decent showing.
With the coach opting to shuffle the defenders with only Vikas Kale and Jaideep constantly featuring in the starting seven, the onus was on Jaideep to lead the charge and he did show up.
In alliance with Vikas Kale, Jaideep kept the opposition raiders in check with an attacking approach that served him and the team well. However, with the other defenders failing to make a mark, Jaideep was forced to take up a vast majority of tackling on his own shoulders which he did in the end, scoring close to half of the tackle points.
#3 Miss - Pardeep Narwal's injury
Pardeep Narwal started off the Patna leg with a top show against the Pink Panthers with an 11-point effort and followed it up with a commanding show against U Mumba as he finished with 17 raid points but was unfortunate to finish on the wrong side of the result.
Against a relatively inexperienced Haryana Steelers defense unit, Pardeep Narwal was yet again amongst the points as he picked up 14 points from 23 raids and accounted for a little less than half of Patna's points.
However, against the Telugu Titans, on a certain raid, Pardeep was brought down on the mat with some force as the impact led to an injury, which forced Pardeep to take up a sedate approach. In that game, Pardeep went in for just nine raids and picked up four points.
In the next game against the Bengaluru Bulls, Pardeep started with a heavily-bandaged wrist and was visibly trying to protect it as he was pinned down on quite a few occasions and was even subbed off in the second half after a poor show.
#2 Hit - Support from raiders
Ahead of the season, Patna made some interesting buys as they added some exciting talent to complement Pardeep Narwal in the raiding unit in the form of Deepak Narwal, Manjeet and Tushar Patil.
Manjeet picked up his first Super 10 in the game against the Bengaluru Bulls when Pardeep Narwal failed to make an impact while in Pardeep's absence against the defense-heavy setup of the Bengal Warriors, Deepak Narwal and Tushar Patil combined to pose some serious issues for the Bengaluru defense unit.
Deepak Narwal has looked confident, albeit in patches but has kept chipping away with the points while Manjeet's reach and understanding of the game situation has aided his stability in this season.
All-rounder Vijay Malik has arrived when the chances have looked bleak and, with a combination of bonus points and touch points, he has managed to keep Patna out of troubled waters.
#1 Hit - Patna Pirates can win without Pardeep Narwal
The Pirates were dealt a major blow ahead of their final home assignment against the Bengal Warriors as skipper Pardeep Narwal was forced to the sidelines owing to a wrist injury. With the skipper out of action, the Warriors were upbeat to get the better of the defending champions.
However, what transpired was exactly the opposite as Jaideep, captaining the side for the first time this season, led the way with a 'High-5'. Besides him, Deepak Narwal and Tushar Patil, the latter as a substitute, took up the raiding duties.
The lanky Manjeet chipped in with a few raid points while Vijay proved his worth as an all-rounder to finish with four points, two raid points and two tackle points in all. In the end, Pardeep Narwal's absence was put to dust as the rest of the team combined to outclass the Warriors and in the process sent out a statement that Pardeep Narwal's presence is not the only calling card for the defending champions.
