Pro Kabaddi 2019, Patna Pirates vs Dabang Delhi K.C: Pardeep's superb show fails to save Patna from going down to Delhi
Home team Dabang Delhi came into Match No. 66 of Pro Kabaddi League Season 7 after winning all three matches at their home ground. Sitting comfortably as the table-toppers on the points table, they looked forward to winning the final match in their home.
The three-time champions Patna Pirates had endured a painful defeat at the hands of the Gujarat Fortune Giants in their prior match. They needed to clinch the victory to move up from the last spot on the points table.
Read to find out how the anticipated battle between Pardeep Narwal's Patna Pirates and Naveen Kumar's Dabang Delhi unfolded itself on the last day of the Delhi leg at the Thyagaraj Sports Complex:
Chandran Ranjit started for the home team and returned with a quick point. Opening the account for the Pirates, Pardeep stole a point in superb fashion, only to be flung off the mat in his following raid.
Young prodigy Naveen picked up a superb two-pointer as he reduced the green army to just a single man. Eventually, the Men in Green suffered their first all-out of the night under the first five minutes of the encounter. Naveen, on the other hand, achieved the milestone of 300 points in just his second season of PKL.
Yet another two-pointer by Naveen increased the already soaring lead to ten points. Under a mere 11 minutes, the Pirates suffered a depressing second all-out. An out-of-the-blue super-raid by Pardeep gave some hopes to the green-clad squad.
Inflicting a long-awaited all-out on the Dabangs, Patna reduced the huge lead to eight points. Naveen completed his Super 10, breaking the record of Pardeep Narwal's eight consecutive Super 10s.
At half-time, the score 26-17 was tilted in Delhi's direction. As the other half commenced, the dubki king plucked a bonus for the Pirates. Quite a few rookie blunders by Patna thrust them into deeper crisis.
Ravinder Pahal was on fire, successfully keeping the opponents at bay. Delhi demanded a review in the 31st minute, which, upon inspection, was judged unsuccessful.
Despite his team's struggles, Pardeep completed another Super 10 with sheer excellence. Naveen was undoubtedly mind-blowing, tirelessly pitching in points for his unit. Unimpressed with the umpire's decision, Patna took a review, which, fortunately, turned successful, giving a two-pointer to Pardeep.
Making a gradual comeback, Patna inflicted another all-out on Dabang Delhi, also reducing the massive score difference to just four points. With just two minutes left, the initially one-sided battle now looked very competitive. Pardeep was outstanding, pitching in points for his squad like a lone warrior.
Despite Pardeep Narwal's heroic endeavours, the Pirates suffered a 35-38 defeat. Delhi, on the other hand, played in resplendent fashion and clinched the victory. They also became the first team to win all four matches of their home leg in PKL 2019.
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