Patna Pirates defeated Puneri Paltan 35-27 in their opening match at home in the inaugural Star Sports Pro Kabaddi League here on Thursday.
The home side went into the match with a 2-2 win-loss ratio and Puneri Paltan did not give up easily. Even without their usual captain, the Pune team exhibited a tremendous defiance that led to a nail-biting first half.
But, Patna Pirates surged ahead in the final five minutes for a final score of 35-27 in favour of the home side.
The game began with the two teams’ top raiders, Patna’s Ravi Dalal and Pune’s Praveen Niwale, both giving a single point for both teams.
In the following two raids, the captains came out to play. Rakesh Kumar, crossing the centerline with the backdrop of a roaring Patna crowd, came home empty-handed, unable to find an opportunity in the Paltan’s defense. Jitesh Joshi faced similar difficulty in the fierce Pirate anti-raiders, and with another empty raid, the crowd felt a little bit of anti-climax.
This was quickly overcome, to the delight of Patna fans, as the Pirates raced ahead to a 9-5 lead, spearheaded by Rakesh Kumar.
Clearly suffering from the lack of their star captain Wazir Singh, the Puneri Paltans looked on as Jitesh stepped out to face the fully stocked, 7-person Patna Defense. But by shooting through the arms of one of Patna’s new defenders, Jitesh not only earned his team a much needed point, but earned their confidence and put them on the path to a comeback.
Rocketing forward in the next 10 minutes, a supercharged Puneri team closed the gap and tied the score at 13-13 before taking a two-point lead of 16-14.
With the game falling apart before their eyes, an inspired Patna’s Sandeep launched into a spectacular two point raid that culminated in a soaring leap over the Paltan defence, once again leveling the score and preparing the Patna offense.
Egged on by their home supporters, Patna Pirates came back strongly and the halftime saw them take a six-point lead of 22 to 16 and the gap grew later.
Trading raid for raid and defensive play for defensive play, that gap hardly adjusted till the end of the game, giving the Patna Pirates the triumph on their home turf.
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