The finale was a glittering affair between two teams looking to become the most successful in these nascent stages of the Star Sports Pro Kabaddi League. The defending champions, Patna Pirates, clearly one of the most balanced teams in the league. The Jaipur Pink Panthers, the winners of the opening season, a surprise finalist after a late resurgence. Patna drew away midway through the match before subduing the Jaipur team with their forceful brand of attacking Kabaddi to win the title 37-29.
Rajesh Narwal got the game going with a splendid super raid that eliminated three Panthers off the mat in a singlular moment of brilliance. The raid set the tone for a high quality final in Hyderabad.
Though Jasvir Singh reduced the champions to just two men, Dharmaraj Cherlathan prevented the game from slipping away with a sensational super tackle for Patna. Incredibly, Patna worked their way into the lead from a position of weakness when Pardeep Narwal earned a valuable touch point to add to the bonus at 7-6 to Patna.
The first Lona of the match was completed in the 16th minute, with Patna building a comfortable five point lead at 16-11. But the Panthers went on a tear in the next three points, with Jasvir playing the star turn with a couple of touch points to level the score at 16-16.
Dharmaraj completed another super tackle and Rajesh Mondal brought home a raid point to ensure that the Pirates went into the break with a 19-16 advantage.
HT: Patna Pirates 19-16 Jaipur Pink Panthers
At 19-18 in the second half, the game was on a knife edge, with six Panthers facing just three Pirates at the other end. Fazel Atrachali stepped out of the lines for a second time in the match, inexplicable errors from one of the finest defenders of the fourth season.
Hadi Oshtorak undid some of the damage by making a super tackle on Rajesh Narwal but Pardeep Narwal continued his prolific ways to earn two points on the turn to stretch the lead to five points. As the clock continued to tick, the 19 year old uncapped Pardeep continued his brilliant run with a touch point on Jasvir.
The lead for Patna grew to eight when they dismissed the Panthers off the mat for a second time. Only three minutes remained with the Panthers needing to step up their game at 23-31.
Jasvir had been an imposing presence on the night but the Pirates conceded a bonus point before snapping up the star raider. There was only a little time left on the clock and Pirates started to work the clock to their advantage.
Pardeep made a couple of empty raids just to consume time before Jasvir came on for one final time in the fourth season of the PKL. The Pirates tackled Jasvir to plant a cherry on their cake with a final flourish.
Patna Pirates became the first two time champion of this fledgling league that promises to change the fortunes of this game and its players in the years to come.
FT: Patna Pirates 37-29 Jaipur Pink Panthers
