Pro Kabaddi League 2018 | What went wrong in Patna Leg
![Patna Pirates in action. [Picture Courtesy: ProKabaddi.com]](https://staticg.sportskeeda.com/editor/2018/11/21509-15411718181169-800.jpg?w=500)
Patna Pirates was confident and hopeful of performing outstandingly well in their home leg, and why shouldn't they be? The team is a 3-time champion, defending nonetheless. But, the team was not able to live up to the expectations of the people. Patna saw some dark and rough nights but managed to sail the boat and finish on a happy note. With the end of the Patna leg yesterday, let's analyze why Patna Pirates was not able to level those expectations. Let's see how Patna performed back home.
Patna Pirates vs Jaipur Pink Panthers
With the kind of love and support the team was getting in the first match at home ground, Patna Pirates were rather too optimistic about their performance. And why shouldn’t they be? They had the best raider, Dubki King, Pardeep Narwal leading the team. Manjeet, an up and coming raider, was performing extraordinary well taking a leverage on his height. Jaipur Pink Panthers were not playing their A game that night, and by winning the 1st match on home turf, Patna Pirates got overly optimistic about winning the future games on the mat, back home.
Patna Pirates vs U Mumba
When Fazel Atrachali is on the mat, the Raiders better be aware of his capabilities. Fazel Atrachali, the captain of U Mumba, played against Patna Pirates very smartly. U Mumba are a very balanced team with raiders like Siddharth Desai and best defender, the captain himself.
The team put up a great show against Patna Pirates and tackled their way to win this match. It was a very close encounter with U Mumba edging ahead marginally with a nail-biting finish.
Patna Pirates just felt the heat on their home ground that night.
Patna Pirates Vs Haryana Steelers
![Pardeep Narwal in action. [Picture Courtesy: ProKabaddi.com]](https://staticg.sportskeeda.com/editor/2018/11/663be-15411718441325-800.jpg)
The absence of Monu Goyat on the court from Haryana Steelers was speaking volumes before the match even started. But, Vikas Kandola’s cool composer with an excellent planning to keep the Pirate raiders off the mat proved successful. Patna Pirates didn’t realize when their Pardeep Narwal dependent team lost the match. It was high time the team should’ve realized that they need to play a team game by creating more strategies to win the game going forward than just solely rely on a single player to win them matches.
Patna Pirates vs Telugu Titans
Pardeep Narwal, the star raider back home, crossed the milestone set by Rahul Chaudhari of the highest raid points in PKL history, in his previous match. The question now was, if Pardeep Narwal will be able to stand the blows from Rahul Chaudhari, the best raider from Telugu Titans.
This match was going to be a treat to the eyes, with two of the world’s best raiders fighting for their positions. But, Pardeep Narwal had no support from his team. The star raider had to take care of the team as well as his recent injury in his wrist, which he could be seen nursing on the mat, and in turn not being able to pick up his game. With a 3rd consecutive loss on the home ground, Patna Pirates would’ve been hurting a lot.
Patna Pirates vs Bengaluru Bulls
![Manjeet attempting a raid. [Picture Courtesy: ProKabaddi.com]](https://staticg.sportskeeda.com/editor/2018/11/b69dd-15411717159156-800.jpg)
Rohit Kumar and Pawan Sehrawat formed a strong duo against the Pirates. With 97% successful raid strike rate, Pawan Sehrawat was all over the court and Rohit Kumar, Captain of Bengaluru Bulls was marshalling his troops well to keep Pardeep Narwal on the bench.
However, Patna Pirates didn’t lose hope this time. They finally picked up their defence and the in-form Manjeet also scored his first Super-10 of the Season. Deepak Narwal, who was not in the playing 7 for all the previous matches, was finally made to play and he outscored Pardeep by notching 10 points in his 12 raids.
Pirates had as if rejuvenated from all their previous woes and came back strong in the game. While Pradeep Narwal spent time off the court for the maximum time, his team looked united and independent of their captain for the first time. Patna Pirates 4th loss on the home ground was rather saddening for the home fans, but they could finally see some light at the end of the tunnel.
Patna Pirates vs Bengal Warriors
It was going to be a tough one again. Having lost only 1 match out of their 5, Bengal Warriors, even in the absence of their star raider Maninder Singh, were a strong team. Giving a sturdy competition to the Bengal Warriors, in the absence of their talismanic captain, Patna Pirates finally made it back to the top of the Zone B table after this match.
Patna Pirates had just started coming back in action but unfortunately, the matches on their home turf got over. But as they say, ‘All’s well, that ends well’.